Indian board miffed with Tuffey's Auckland deal

New Zealand fast bowler Daryl Tuffey's participation in a 50-over match between hosts Auckland and the touring Bangladeshis has not gone down well with the Indian board (BCCI). Tuffey was one of the overseas players in the recently concluded Indian Cricket League (ICL) and the BCCI has objected to him representing his new state side in first-class cricket.

"All the boards had agreed in principle at the last ICC CEO's meeting that any player who is part of an unauthorised tournament will not be encouraged," Niranjan Shah, the BCCI secretary, told the Times of India. "This is a violation of a gentleman's agreement. Lalit Modi [a BCCI vice-president] will write to New Zealand Cricket to protest against this move."

After completing his ICL commitment, Tuffey was expected to play grade cricket in Sydney. But having declined a contract with Auckland for 2007-08 in October, he decided to return to New Zealand recently.

Justin Vaughan, the NZC chief, said the matter was not a big issue and that his board had its policies firmly in place. "Any [ICL] player will be eligible to play in domestic cricket as non-contracted players [on a match-by-match basis]. However, in accordance with the policies of other Test-playing countries, they will not be eligible for selection for any New Zealand Cricket representative teams [national or A teams]."

Once a regular in the New Zealand side, Tuffey, 29, spent two years out of international cricket before his surprise recall for the Chappell-Hadlee matches in February. Although he looked rusty, he was sent to the World Cup in the Caribbean where he managed only one game before returning home with a shoulder injury. Tuffey has played his entire first-class career with Northern Districts, but has switched to Auckland for this season.

He has played 80 one-day internationals and 22 Tests.