New Zealand captain Vettori has signed his NZC contract New Zealand Cricket has persuaded its six Indian Premier League players to agree contracts with the board and forgo "significant sums of money". The move avoids a possible rift caused by a scheduling clash with Australia's tour to its Oceania neighbour in March. Daniel Vettori, Brendon McCullum, Kyle Mills, Jacob Oram, Jesse Ryder and Ross Taylor had all been granted extra time to confirm their deals. NZC chief executive Justin Vaughan said: "This is an admirable decision." Vaughan added: "Each of these individuals should be applauded for it. By signing their contracts, they are sacrificing significant sums of money. "Their decision helps to reinforce international cricket as the pinnacle of our sport, and clearly shows that representing New Zealand remains the biggest motivating factor for our leading players." Meanwhile, Sean Morris, the chief executive of the Professional Cricketers' Association in England, believes the age of the mercenary cricketer could be around the corner. "I can see the day of the freelance cricketer with players turning down England contracts," Morris told the Daily Telegraph. "That's the way the market will go and it's very dangerous. 606: DEBATE "Andrew Flintoff has already made the choice to concentrate on one-day cricket and others will make similar decisions earlier and earlier in their careers. That does not bode well for the ECB, the PCA or anybody. We all want the best players to appear in Test cricket." Calls by Morris and others for the IPL to be granted a window in the international are schedule are growing - but they are not being heeded. "I've seen the ICC's Future Tours Programme from 2012-2020," Morris said. "It's unbelievable. The players won't be able to do it. England will need two squads picked on a rotation basis. Fast bowlers in particular are going to be broken. Players will be drained mentally as well as physically. "Everyone wants to see the best cricketers play because of TV and sponsorship, but it's not going to happen, something has to give. I believe the answer is less cricket and with proper windows created for events such as the IPL. This will allow the players to earn the money without cutting across their England commitments."



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