New Zealand's test match tour of Sri Lanka, originally scheduled for May-June has been abandoned by New Zealand Cricket.

New Zealand Cricket (NZC) chief executive Christopher Doig said today the tour was not on the 10-year touring plan that has been introduced and had been agreed to initially to help Sri Lanka out.

But a review of the demands on New Zealand's players, and the full programme it has next summer, led to New Zealand restricting the tour to a one-day tri-series with Sri Lanka and India in mid-July-August.

Doig said it had always been agreed to play the tri-series, but Sri Lanka had asked New Zealand to play three Tests.

"But the problems of getting a team prepared to play Test and one-day cricket in the middle of a New Zealand winter, especially with the September tour to Pakistan, the tour of Australia and the visit here by England, were all too much.

"So we went back to Sri Lanka and said we were still prepared to play the tri-series but not the Test matches. And they have agreed to that," Doig said.

If New Zealand was to make the final of the tri-series it would be away for four weeks, instead of the seven to eight weeks a Test tour would involve.

"What we have now will suit our programme well," he said.

NZC had started discussions with Sri Lanka on the matter in November and an agreement was finally reached about two weeks ago.

© CricInfo