NZC chairman should resign - Greatbatch

Mark Greatbatch, the former New Zealand batsman and coach, has called for NZC chairman Chris Moller to resign in the wake of Ross Taylor being dumped as captain.

Moller publically apologised to Taylor and his family for how the situation was handled after Mike Hesson, the New Zealand coach, told Taylor that he wanted a change of captain during the Sri Lanka tour but did not specify that he meant in limited-overs cricket only. However, Moller added that nobody in the NZC management would lose their jobs over the controversy.

Greatbatch does not agree with that and believes the only way for New Zealand to move forward is for some drastic changes and hinted at other poorly handled situations over the years.

''For me, the chairman of the board has been involved with too many underhand dealings in the last two or three years. I think it's time for him to move on," he told LiveSport, a New Zealand radio station, on Wednesday. "We've got to do something that is actually going to make us better and it's got to start from the top."

Greatbatch had sympathy for Taylor who has opted out of the tour to South Africa following his demotion but aims to return to domestic cricket in January with a view to being available for the visit of England from February.

''He's been trying to play for his country while people have been at him behind his back," he said. "It's sad, he's our best player. It doesn't seem right, but I don't blame him.

''He showed as a player while he was captain that he was leading from the front, which is a huge part of leadership. He's only captained 30-odd times for New Zealand, that's not a lot of games.

''I think the players have to get better. Ross Taylor, in the last 18 months, has got better with his performance. Maybe if half a dozen other guys had improved their game to that level we wouldn't be in this mess.

''If they think a change of captain in all forms is going to magically improve our game, they're kidding themselves.''