Helped by increased revenue because of next year's World Cup and more attractive international tours, New Zealand Cricket will help boost the income of first-class cricketers.

Some provincial players at present receive as little as $2500-$3000 for six months toil, but they will start getting that sort of money for playing just three Shell Trophy games this summer.

New Zealand Cricket chief executive Chris Doig said yesterday it was important to keep top players in the game with better money.

``The essence of this is to make sure the players can stay and afford to play the game. They have struggled at first-class level.''

He recalled that nine Northern Districts players were on the dole when he started at New Zealand Cricket three years ago.

The new payments should mean the top 35 cricketers in the country will earn a minimum $25,000-$26,000 for playing conference cricket, Shell Cup, and Shell Trophy this season.

This is before any payments they receive for playing for New Zealand.

Cricketers who play just Shell Trophy and Shell Cup will also get more money. Minimum match fees of $1000 for Shell Trophy and $500 for Shell Cup have been established.

New Zealand Cricket will provide 50 per cent of the minimum match fee; major associations pay the rest.

Asked how New Zealand Cricket would afford the new payments, Doig said: ``Through prudent budgeting and aggressive marketing of the game.''

Gate receipts and television revenue from this summer's tours of New Zealand by South Africa and India, plus millions of dollars in revenue from next year's World Cup, will boost New Zealand Cricket's profit to just over $5 million for this financial year.

The national body announced yesterday a net operating surplus of $1.08 million for the 12 months to May 31, 1998. This was $500,000 below budget because of disappointing gate receipts from the Zimbabwe tour of New Zealand.

``The results ... reflect a less than ideal international programme including an overexposure of the Zimbabwe team to New Zealand audiences in recent years,'' Doig said.

New Zealand Cricket paid out $1.44 million in grants to its district associations - leaving it with a net deficit for the year of $360,920.

The body has equity of $2.23 million.

Doig said he was focused on securing tours ``which give us very good gate receipts or overseas television revenue''.

In this regard, it was important to have tours by the likes of the West Indies, England, and Australia.

Earlier this year, when New Zealand Cricket announced that pay operator Sky TV had won the rights to screen cricket from 1999-2000, Doig said that the deal would allow more money to go to major associations and to boost the pay packets of professional players.