NZC to meet former captains

New Zealand Cricket (NZC) will meet with former skippers in a bid to improve communication within the national set-up in the wake of the controversy surrounding the handling of Ross Taylor's demotion from the captaincy.

Taylor was stripped of the one-day and Twenty20 captaincy this month at the recommendation of head coach Mike Hesson following their tour of Sri Lanka and the disgruntled batsman then turned down an offer to continue as Test skipper.

Former players criticised NZC for the controversy, forcing the Board to make a public apology to the cricketer, who made himself unavailable for the South Africa tour.

Taylor's absence and the unavailability of former skipper Daniel Vettori due to injury meant that opener Brendon McCullum, another former captain, was handed the reins of the team.

“Former captains will be invited to attend the meeting which is intended to be an annual event designed to provide quality input from both the former captains and the players who were part of their era in cricket,” NZC said in a statement.