Wellington, March 23 -- New Zealand Cricket (NZC) said that the board will pursue the NZ20 franchise league as the "preferred option for its domestic T20 competition", making it highly likely to replace the existing Super Smash tournament in their cricketing calendar.

In a statement issued on Sunday night, NZC said, "New Zealand Cricket (NZC) will pursue the proposed NZ20 franchise league as the preferred option for its domestic T20 competition."

"The NZC Board has made an in-principle decision to support the establishment of the new league, subject to the satisfactory resolution of key commercial, structural, and governance matters."

"While not a final commitment, the decision allows NZC to focus resources on advancing discussions tow...