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Monday, December 31, 2007

New Zealand's stern no to ICL rebels

New Zealand has asked its selectors not to consider Indian Cricket League-aligned players while picking the national team for future assignments.

The decision by the New Zealand Cricket (NZC) put paid to the hopes of Chris Cairns, Nathan Astle, Chris Harris, Craig McMillan, Hamish Marshall and Darryl Tuffey to play either in national or A teams.

"We have a preference that our selectors take into consideration the fact that that these guys have been playing in an unsanctioned competition, an event that isn't in the best interests of New Zealand or world cricket, and that we'd rather that they didn't play," said NZC chief executive Justin Vaughan.

"I don't think we can say that they're ineligible for selection. We'd prefer to say that the selectors will be encouraged to consider other players," he was quoted as saying by the Sunday Star Times.

While NZC fell short of announcing a ban on the 'rebel' players, it has been decided that the cricketers would not be allowed to hold contracts with the State Championship teams and their participation would be limited to playing for match payments on a game-by-game basis.

These Test cricketers played for the rebel ICL Twenty20 championship in Panchkula, Haryana, despite opposition from the International Cricket Council and its affiliates.

Of the 'rebel' players, Cairns, Harris, McMillan and Astle have announced their retirement from international cricket while Tuffey, and Marshall are likely lose out the chance to play for their country again.

Vaughan would soon convey the Board's decision to BCCI vice president Lalit Modi and the NZC official said, "There's an understanding that we don't support the ICL and that we don't want to give them unnecessary traction."

BCCI had earlier resented the inclusion of Tuffey in an Auckland XI that played the Bangladesh tourists, saying the selection of an ICL-aligned player undermined the agreement.

Source : http://www.cricketnext.com/

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