Deadline to New Zealad IPL Players
March 27th, 2008Further to earlier report - New Zealand Skipper Daniel Vettori, Jacob Oram, Brendon McCullum, Kyle Mills and
Ross Taylor will be expected to arrive in England a fortnight before
the first test at Lord’s which begins on May 15.
It means the
five will be able to slot in four games each in the IPL while missing
the New Zealand team’s festival match against the MCC in Arundel,
Sussex, on April 27 and first county match against Kent from April
28-30.
They will play two warm-up matches - against Essex from May 2 and England A from May 8.
Cricket
New Zealand chief executive Justin Vaughan said the decision had been
reached after he had met with individual players, coach John Bracewell,
the team as a whole and the Cricket Players Association (NZCPA) to
discuss the arrival options for the IPL players.
“We have reached a decision which I believe is fair and is also consistent with the best cricketing outcome,” Vaughan said.
“When the itinerary for the England tour was put in place, it was
not envisaged that a number of our players would be playing quality
cricket in India.
“For players that are playing a high standard of international cricket, two weeks is a good level of preparation.
“The
May 1 deadline date will give the players time to acclimatise to
playing in English conditions as they will be available for two first
class matches, prior to the test series beginning.
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“The England and Wales Cricket Board has also been consulted and is happy with the decision.”
Vaughan
said the IPL Twenty20 tournament had the ability to retain players in
the international game and therefore had New Zealand’s full support.
“The
global cricket landscape is changing rapidly and we must be flexible
enough to change with it, while protecting the integrity of the
international game.”
He said the five players had agreed to abide by whatever decision NZC reached.
NZCPA
executive manager Heath Mills described today’s decision as “a good
pragmatic” one and had full support from the association.
- NZPA
Tags: England Newzealand Test, IPL, New Zealand playersPosted in Cricket News, IPL News |