Auckland: New Zealand's Indian Premier League (IPL)-contracted players have been given a deadline of May 1 to join the national team for the tour of England.

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 Lords, which begins May 15.

New Zealand Cricket chief executive Justin Vaughan said the decision was reached after he met the players, coach John Bracewell, the team as a whole and the Cricket Players Association to discuss the clash of the IPL schedule with the England tour.

"We have reached a decision, which I believe is fair and is also consistent with the best cricketing outcome," Vaughan was quoted as saying in The New Zealand Herald. "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 who are playing a high standard of international cricket, two weeks is a good level of preparation," he said.

The five players 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 on April 28-30. They will, however, feature in two warm-up matches against Essex (May 2) and England A (May 8).

Vaughan claimed the arrangement has the approval of England and Wales Cricket Board and they are happy with the decision.

"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," he said. He said the five players have agreed to abide by the decision of the board.

Source : IANS