New Zealand Cricket Players' Association (NZCPA) executive manager Heath Mills said he had advised his players to agree to the contract because none had major personal endorsements that conflicted with tournament sponsors.

The Champions Trophy being held in Sri Lanka next month is being threatened by the on-going dispute, which could see top stars including Sachin Tendulkar and Glenn McGrath prevented from playing.

Australia, India and England are against signing the contract, which forces players to disengage from personal endorsements that clash with tournament ones, because they believe it is unlawful.

But David Graveney, chief executive of the Professional Cricketers' Association, said he believed England players would eventually sign it, if the ICC relented on a couple of conditions.

And Mills said although New Zealand players were signing this time, they wanted the issue sorted out because "some New Zealand players could be in the same boat one day."

The ICC has ordered the national cricket administrations to settle the issue with their players by Friday.

Player compensation

International players union chief executive Tim May said it was premature to talk about boycotts.

"It isn't about a money grab, it's about a fundamental principle," said May, a former Australian Test cricketer who also heads the Australian Cricketers' Association.

"The players want to play in the tournament but are very concerned.

"It would mean a player breaching an existing contract and that's not only unreasonable, it's unlawful."

Indian officials were reportedly planning on compensating players who would be out-of-pocket if they signed the ICC contract.

South Africa have also joined the debate.

Tony Irish, chief executive of the South African Cricketers' Association, said several players already had such individual agreements in place and that the ICC did not have the right to control players' image rights.

Irish said: "One has to be very careful about threatening the event, but the fact is that these contracts existed before the players were required to sign the ICC contracts."