England's women's cricketers nearly got their New Zealand tour off to the worst possible start when wicket-keeper Jane Cassar was refused entry by New Zealand Immigration.

The England team arrived in Christchurch at 10am today but Cassar and team manager Joce Brooks were left behind in Auckland.

Team coach Paul Farbrace said the problem was noticed first at Heathrow when an English customs officer let Cassar onto her flight, although the boarding pass she was carrying had her married name while the passport she was carrying was in her maiden name (Smit). The passport also had cancelled stamped on it.

She was assured that she would not need to have her updated passport to gain entry into New Zealand.

No problem had occurred at the team's stopover in Los Angeles as it was only in transit and all that was needed was a boarding pass.

However, New Zealand officials took a different view from their English counterparts.

Some anxious moments followed as the team was attempting to catch its connecting flight to Christchurch.

Cassar and Brooks remained behind in an attempt to sort out the matter while the team flew on to Christchurch.

When they arrived they learned that Cassar had been granted a Certificate of Identity and was required to have her up to date passport sent out as soon as possible.

Brooks said the matter had been made easier because Cassar was in New Zealand earlier this year on a cricket trip and all her information was still in New Zealand's immigration computer files.

"The problem we then had was getting across to the domestic terminal in Auckland only to find all the flights were full," Brooks said.

Christchurch is the venue for one of the biggest days in New Zealand racing today, the staging of the New Zealand Trotting Cup, and racing fans had filled most of the flights.

The pair were placed on stand by and had to overcome problems with the weight of their luggage.

They were eventually reunited with their team an hour and a quarter later in Christchurch.

The England team is staying in Christchurch until the weekend when it will bus to Oamaru for the first of three One-Day Internationals against New Zealand on Sunday. Two more games will be played in Timaru on Tuesday and Wednesday.

© CricInfo