St John’s: New Zealand continue to do well on the field, but off it the team has got embroiled in a controversy. Some of their players have been accused of racially abusing catering staff before their Super Eight match with the West Indies, as briefly reported in Tuesday’s Late City edition.

According to a report, unnamed players were alleged to have said “good morning niggers” to employees of the Goddard Catering Group before the start of Thursday’s match at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.

The report also said the ICC had begun an investigation after a complaint from a staff member.

However, New Zealand general manager Lindsay Crocker said the media report had been “grossly embellished” although he added he had investigated the issue with World Cup operations director Michael Hall.

Crocker explained that the catering staff had been interviewed after suggestions they heard the word “nigger” used during a private conversation among three or four players.

“We talked to the catering staff and quickly found there were three or four people in the room at the time,” Crocker said. “They weren’t able to tell me who they were, they indicated they were older members of the group.

“They weren’t sure if they heard it accurately, they didn’t hear any other comment, and those comments weren’t directed at the catering staff,” Crocker added. (AFP)