WELLINGTON, March 27 (Reuters) - Five New Zealand players have been given permission to miss the start of this year's tour of England to play in the
Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 tournament.
New Zealand Cricket (NZC) has agreed to let their IPL-signed players: Daniel Vettori, Jacob Oram, Brendon McCullum, Kyle Mills and Ross Taylor arrive in England a week later than their team mates.
The players have been told to report for duty by May 1, two weeks before the start of the first test at Lord's. The IPL starts April 18
They will miss New Zealand's first two practice matches, against the MCC and Kent, but will be available for the remaining four warm-up matches prior to the opening test.
"We have reached a decision which I believe is fair and is also consistent with the best cricketing outcome," NZC chief executive Justin Vaughan said in a statement on Thursday.
"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."
Vaughan said the players and the England and Wales Cricket Board had all been consulted about the decision and were fully supportive of letting players join the IPL.
"The IPL has the ability to retain players in the international game and has our full support," Vaughan said.
"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." (Reporting by Julian Linden in Sydney; Editing by John O'Brien)
