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New Zealand Cricket has deferred the announcement regarding their rescheduled tour to Pakistan in April-May. The NZC were expected to make the announcement Wednesday after their executive board meeting which was also expected to be attended by Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Brig Munawwar Rana. However, The New Zealand Herald newspaper said the announcement was now unlikely before the end of the month.

"The final decision [on the Pakistan tour] will be made after further discussions with [team manager] Jeff Crowe, [coach] Denis Aberhart, the Player's Association and the players," NZC chief executive Martin Snedden was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

"Any decision on whether the tour would go ahead will be made sooner rather than later, possibly within the next two weeks," Snedden said.

NZC are considering rescheduling the tour which was cancelled in the aftermath of Sept 11 terrorist attacks on the United States.

The New Zealand Herald said fears of player burnout rather than any security concerns are likely to scuttle the proposed tour.

"There are the issues of security - which we have been assured by the Pakistanis will not be a problem - and, perhaps more importantly, the issue of how much cricket our players are being expected to play," said Snedden.

New Zealand play five one-dayers and three Tests against England, that started Wednesday. Straight after that, New Zealand fly to Sharjah for a one-day series, starting on April 9.

"If the Pakistan tour goes ahead - and they want three Tests and three one-day internationals - the players would go there after Sharjah," said Snedden.

The Black Caps are then scheduled to tour the West Indies before defending their ICC KnockOut title in September. They then travel to India and then appear in the World Cup. In between, the players are committed to play in the domestic competition.

"We are looking at the burnout issue carefully," said Snedden.

© Dawn