August 31, 2007	Friday	Sha'aban 17, 1428

WELLINGTON, Aug 30: New Zealand Cricket (NZC) on Thursday said it would not allow any of its contracted players to take part in the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL) series.

It said the Twenty20 team tournament, due to take place from October to November, would clash with New Zealand’s tour of South Africa and the opening of the domestic first class season.

“We have considered this issue carefully and have concluded that New Zealand Cricket cannot agree to release our contracted players to participate in the ICL,” said chief executive Justin Vaughan.

He said the ICL tournament, and the proposed Stanford tournament in the West Indies, had the potential to compete with and erode the value of official internationals sanctioned by the International Cricket Council.

“New Zealand Cricket, and indirectly our professional player group, depends upon the value of the media rights associated with official international events to provide a majority of our income.

“It is therefore in the best interests of New Zealand Cricket not to support unofficial events such as the ICL,” Vaughan added.

Retired West Indies captain Brian Lara and four Pakistani players — Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Yousuf and Imran Farhat, and Abdul Razzaq — have all been recruited, as have many Indian domestic players.—Reuters