Ross Taylor is expected to be axed as New Zealand cricket captain a week before the team leave for South Africa.

Several months of speculation that Taylor will be replaced as skipper by Brendon McCullum has escalated this week amid rumours of factions within the team.

The Test and limited-over squads to tour South Africa could be announced as soon as Wednesday, with Taylor’s 18-month tenure in jeopardy following a poor run of results.

Coach Mike Hesson has refused to publicly endorse Taylor as his preferred captain since inheriting the role from John Wright in July.

Hesson has a lengthy association with McCullum in his previous stint as Otago coach.

His thoughts will have been influential during a review into the just-completed tour of Sri Lanka which New Zealand Cricket officials had said would be thorough.

Ironically, that tour ended on a high, with Taylor earning the man of the match award in a 167-run second Test win in Colombo to square the series.

His double of 142 and 74 saw Taylor improve to a career-high eighth in the world Test batting rankings.

The Dominion Post reported on Tuesday that Hesson asked Taylor to step down as captain before the Sri Lanka tour but the 28-year-old refused.

Other reports say some senior players also want the captaincy either split or handed entirely to McCullum, who has previously stated a desire to lead.

On his return from Sri Lanka, Taylor told reporters the decision was out of his hands.

“There’s a review after every tour and I can’t control what’s said in that meeting,” he said.

“I’m just glad to be home and whatever comes from that, comes from that.”

Under Taylor, New Zealand have won four and lost seven of their 13 Tests.

Two wins over lowly Zimbabwe were sandwiched between a famous defeat of Australia in Hobart and the Colombo triumph, which ended a streak of five consecutive defeats.

The South African tour begins with a warmup game on December 18, followed by three Twenty20 internationals, two Tests and three one-day internationals.