Exploring the depths of counties and Kolpak
Most county signings occur with barely a mention but Yorkshire's decision to secure the services of South African Jacques Rudolph, without him counting as an overseas player, has done anything but.
Increasing evidence suggests that Rudolph is planning on using his three years (or less) at Yorkshire to further his international ambitions with South Africa.
That's despite the 25 year old putting his signature to a declaration forfeiting all future international ambitions, as demanded under qualification regulations.
While Yorkshire have been keen to show Rudolph as having a long-term commitment to the county, Gerald Majola of the South African cricket board painted a different picture.
He said "Jacques has definitely given us an assurance that he will come back. In fact, he actually approached us with the whole arrangement. The real reason he is going is so he can become a better player for South Africa in the future - he just said he needs more experience."
Player regulation has become murky since 2003, when the European Court's Kolpak ruling allowed players from countries with associate agreements with the European Union - like South Africa, Zimbabwe and several Caribbean islands - to count as domestic players.
Rules agreed by the first-class counties say that any player wishing to play in England and Wales under the Kolpak ruling must not have represented his country during the previous 12 months. Rudolph last did so only in August.
The pledge of turning his back on playing for South Africa is supposed to get around that issue but it appears none of these agreements are legally enforceable.
Normally the Professional Cricketers Association would be critical of such signings as barriers to the development of young English talent.
In this case, though, the players union agrees that a part of Yorkshire's present crisis and need of experienced batting could be due to one of their own members, namely Anthony McGrath, walking out of a contract at Headingley. The Chris Adams "Deal or No Deal' episode was also a disaster.
PCA vice-president (legal affairs) Ian Smith says what is really needed is '"improved communication", saying the organisation could have helped Yorkshire.
The PCA says there are two reasons it wants to keep to a minimum the number of players signed under Kolpak.
One is to prevent English talent being thwarted and the other is to stop other Test teams from gaining an advantage over England with the help of our own county clubs.
I can't imagine Yorkshire would disagree with those concerns but at the same time with two months to go before the new season, they have still to appoint a captain, a coach and they've a team that will struggle badly.
To look at the big picture, Yorkshire (like the rest) are only strong if England are strong. Look at the impact of the Ashes in 2005.
Therefore in this case the signing of Rudolph appears a backward move. Lots of runs and proven commitment is required for this not to be a backward step for all concerned.
One chief executive, Mark Newton of Worcestershire, doesn't believe Yorkshire are guilty of too big a crime, saying: "As long as they have worked within the rules we are happy."
Like, I imagine, most other county bosses, Newton is interested in whether or not the spirit of the agreement has been adhered to.
However, with heavy financial penalties kicking in this summer for those who don't field nine English-qualified players, he doesn't envisage the issue becoming too big a problem.
Every time Yorkshire play Rudolph in a Championship match during the season they will lose £1,100 from their ECB handout; in every one-day game they will lose £275.
It's worth pointing out that in 2008 - when each county is allowed only one overseas player - the same restriction of nine English-qualified players will apply.
As long as Rudolph is the only Kolpak player at that time, Yorkshire will then not face a financial penalty.
There remains the thorny issue of McGrath walking out of the club. I say this with no knowledge of the reasons and I may feel differently when Anthony explains himself but from where I'm sitting his actions are questionable.
I have known him for many years and from that knowledge alone I imagine it must be very serious as he is a good and generous man but his actions are partly responsible for an unholy mess, of which the implications are being widely felt.
Most people I speak to within and outside of Yorkshire believe he will still be at Headingley at the start of the season, as the legal costs of another county signing him will be too great.
If that is the case I hope everyone can swallow a big dollop of pride and start again. Yorkshire need McGrath badly and he may still need them.
The signing of Rudolph is a disgrace. Could you imagine New South Wales welcolming Ian Bell or Alistair Cook as a non overseas player? It is short sighted and bad for the English game. If Rudolph plays for South Africa again after his Yorkshire contract, Yorkshire should be banned from having another overseas player for 100 years.
Complain about this postThe signing of Rudolph is a disgrace. Could you imagine New South Wales welcolming Ian Bell or Alistair Cook as a non overseas player? It is short sighted and bad for the English game. If Rudolph plays for South Africa again after his Yorkshire contract, Yorkshire should be banned from having another overseas player for 100 years.
Complain about this postI'm a massive Yorkshire fan and have been for all of my 20 years but the signing of Rudolph is embarassing to the county and the nation!!
We wonder why our national side is in such dire straights when most counties these days only put out about 4 or 5 players who actually qualify for England!!
It's bad enough that our best player at the moment is actually South African but when players like Rudolph, Ian Harvey & Craig Spearman, who have all played s significant amount of international cricket and cannot possibly represent England, are being counted as 'non-overseas' it's just a disgrace!!! I'd like to see these bigwigs at the ECB try and walk to Jo'berg, Sydney or Christchurch!!!
As long as we have such pathetic and stupid rules in this country we'll continue to be embarassing in the international arena!!!
Complain about this postYorkshire's problem is that nobody in England seems to want to play for them, captain them or coach them.
So much so that Anthony McGrath will be playing for nobody this summer rather than serve the last year of his contract.
It doesn't excuse what they have done in signing Rudolph - and let's face it they are not the first county to resort to the Kolpak loophole - but it certainly explains it.
Complain about this postI accept that Yorkshire are acting within the rules, and don't blame them, given the situation they are in. However, I think this shows that the rules themselves are wrong. It is one thing to allow EU players to play for English counties under Kolpak, since they most likely cannot get first class cricket anywhere else, and would not play Test cricket for another country. It's quite another matter in the case of players from another Test playing country; even more so when they have played for their country relatively recently. I would suggest that Rudolph should have to requalify for SA, once he has completed his contract with Yorkshire, if he wants to play for them again, on the same basis that KP did to qualify for England (was that 7 years?) That would put a stop to people using the Kolpak ruling to further their Test careers.
Complain about this postanthony mcgrath will be at lancashire come the start of the season, both parties are interested in a deal. anyway he won't perform at his best if his heart isnt in it 4 yorkshire
Complain about this postI would be more concerned, from the Point of view of a South African, that Rudolph has pledged that he will have no future in the national squad. Whether he will or not i think that is seperate matter. Would us Brits be contempt with Bell or Cook pledging their future to Australian Domestic cricket as opposed to the Engalnd set-up? Having said that, Englsih cricket needs improving and playing with players from around the world can only imporve that. Maybe the rules need to be looked at as opposed to Rudolph or the YCCC.
Complain about this postPerhaps the ECB are hoping he does not play for South Africa a while longer, than he could emulate Pietersen, Lamb, Smith, Strauss, Hick and co. But seriously, I am sure South African franschises, had they the funds to secure the services of a fringe English player, would do so. These players bring in crowds and improve the quality of leagues and national players, just as they have in done in football, after all, Italy are World Champions, and England got close.
Complain about this postI am sure Yorkshire will have more spectators for their opening game of the season than last, largely due to the curiousity the signing of Rudolph will have created. The people at Headingley deserve a bonus for securing the services of a player that will average 55+ in county cricket.
I would be more concerned, from the Point of view of a South African, that Rudolph has pledged that he will have no future in the national squad. Whether he will or not i think that is seperate matter. Would us Brits be contempt with Bell or Cook pledging their future to Australian Domestic cricket as opposed to the Engalnd set-up? Having said that, Englsih cricket needs improving and playing with players from around the world can only imporve that. Maybe the rules need to be looked at as opposed to Rudolph or the YCCC.
Complain about this post^A bit harsh^
I can't speak from a neutral point being a Yorkshire fan but I see why others are not happy. I feel we (Yorkshire) need a much stronger squad. The loss of Lehaman is a big one and a lack of strenght in the bowling department.
Complain about this postCouldn't agree more. The Ashes debacle should be concentrating everybody's minds on the long term future of English cricket. Kolpak players are mercenaries who contribute nothing to the future of our cricket and the Counties must realise that they cannot continue to bury their heads in the sand about their neccessity to produce players of international quality. Just watch as attendances start to drop off at test matches and money bleeds out of the game, the longer form of cricket will become a marginal sport and limited over and 20/20 (nothing wrong with it as one form of the game) are all that is left! Wake up David Morgan and the ECB.
Complain about this postI'm not sure who Brian Potter supports in terms of county cricket, but it would be interesting to see how many non English qualified players they have. If Rudolph breaks his word and plays for South Africa in the future why should Yorkshire be punished? Surely it is Rudolph who should be punished? Might be worth remembering that Yorkshire until recently still had the rules that you had to be born in Yorkshire to play for the county, and competed against counties with two overseas players at the time. Also almost every county will have a Yorkshire born player in their squad currently, so why can't we (as a Yorkshire born supporter) keep hold of them? I'd much rather see young talent coming through and playing for Yorkshire than expensive imports, but this is what they've had to do to compete with other counties with several Kolpak players etc. And to be fair to Rudolph he finds himself in England like many other South Africans due to their own bizare quota system limiting his chances in the national side. If players are good enough you pick them.
Complain about this postNo way i am a member at Yorkshire, Boycott and the gang at Yorkshire have got a top class player. Any other club would do it. I think people are demising the rules because they fear Yorkshire. I am fairly confident with Rudolph and Younis Khan in the batting order, we will win the Championship
Complain about this postThis kolpak rulling is going to kill english cricket, it has been highlighted this year down under. and is only going to get worse if this continues. this is stopping young and promsing englis crickets coming through the county system and making it in the big time. if you look at the aussies they have young players that can come in and make an immidate impact. eg hilfinhaus, mitchel johnson, shaun tait. and when you look at the english squad there is a handfull that could make the step up and make immidate impact. this is because there is not enough quality young english players getting a chance. because of these kolpak players, i think there needs to be a massive rethink of the structure of county cricket.
Complain about this postThe spirit of the ruling seems to have been well and truly broken here. Rudolph has signed this declaration of forfeiting all future international ambitions but is seemingly going to play for South Africa when his time with Yorkshire is done.
Which renders the piece of paper he's signed as redundant as Chamberlain's "Peace In Our Time" effort.
I know Yorkshire are in a mess (they seemed to be always having a public argument of one sort or another when I wa growing up) but this, coming so close to the Chris Adams issue and the Anthony McGrath situation really isn't going to help them.
Until the full facts are known it's difficult to come to a decision on the McGrath situation. My grandfather used to say that a strong Yorkshire meant a strong England.
Given the mess that both county and country are in, I'm tempted to think he was right. The Yorkshire folk I know are strong willed, so any dispute could well take some solving.
Have you thought of offering your services as a mediator, Kevin?
Soap operas belong to football, not cricket.
Complain about this postPost 3 Joey - Craig Spearman has qualified to play for England and I would love to see him open the batting !!!! Stuart Law is also elidgible to play for us...neither will be selected though.
Complain about this postI like to watch cricket in my spare time, and think it is a good sport, but i have never heard of this Kolpak bloke? Why do people think he will have such a detrimental effect on the english game and yorkshire in particular?
Complain about this postWhat has been frightening about the Kolpak ruling is the quality of players that have taken advantage of it. There was a time when an overseas player had to be a top quality international star (look at some of the overseas players in English cricket in the late '60s and the '70s). Players like Andy Roberts, Zaheer Abbas, Joel Garner and Mike Proctor really enriched the county game. Now though, few genuine quality players can commit themselves to even half a season and much less a full one. The average Kolpak player is little better, if at all, than the home-grown talent. With some honourable exceptions (Craig Spearman has been mentioned in the comments, but he has been a fantastic, committed servant for Gloucestershire, who has genuinely turned his back on New Zealand) many of the overseas signings are barely worth their place in the side that has signed them and few would be in serious consideration for a Test side.
Signing journeyman pros because they are cheap and overseas stars on one or two match contracts has been the worst perversion of the system. No one objects to Shane Warne plying his trade in his off-season, or Muttiah Muralitharan playing half a season and taking a hatfull of wickets, but signing an overseas player for the first two weeks of the season (some counties have even tried to have one for a single match) is ludicrous.
Complain about this postIs this Kolpak any good? If he is, what's the problem? What is his first name by the way?
Complain about this postPaul (#16):
Craig Spearman is 34 and has a very poor Test and ODI record for New Zealand (average 26 and 18 respectively). Despite him having stated that he would like to play for England those numbers will stand against him. However, there was a time no so long ago when the thought - however unlikely - of Trescothick and Spearman opening the batting together for England would have set most pulses racing, not the least those of the opposition bowlers! There wouldn't have been many "30-0 after 15 overs" starts.
Complain about this posti'm struggling to believe some people here. is there honestly a case for the argument that the kolpak players are keeping out quality english potential?
we have 20 county sides, and with 11 players a side that's room for 220 players. do we really have 180 quality english players, with more on the outside waiting to get it? that's room for 16+ sides made up entirely of englishmen? no, i'm far more inclined to agree with shane warne who thinks that there are at least 2-3 players in each county side who simply aren't up to it. the inclusion of kolpak players increases competitiveness at a county level which is exactly what our top english county players need: a bit more of a challenge against quality opposition.
i follow the argument that this gives the foreign players (who have spent time in english conditions) a bit of an advantage, but i think that the value of our players being tested against a higher quality of opposition outweighs it.
Complain about this post#17 & #18
I believe Kolpak was a Slovenian handball player! No sure if that helps.
Complain about this posthow can other teams say anthing about yorkshire .we were playing only yorkshiremen when somerset (joel garnier,viv richards)and all the other counties were playing 2and 3 foreign players and we still won trophys.if you were not born in yorkshire you didnt play for yorkshire.(micheal vaughen could not play for yorkshire)we are now only doing what every other team has been doing for years.
Complain about this postIs the influx of overseas, Kolpak players necessarily the negative it's made out to be?
To be a top international team, England need 11 world class players, taken from a pool of maybe 25. There is simply no need for each county to have nine English registered players as even if this were the case most would fall well below the necessary standard.
We should worry more about making the County game as challenging as possible, and ensuring that as many strong players as possible grace it - be they English, Aussie or whatever.
Persoanlly, I would much rather each County had a handful of really talented English players who could play for their country as opposed to 9 who are simply playing their way towards their testimonial.
For years, domestic cricket has been too soft. Batsmen approaching 40 could cream bowling attacks made of medium paced, 30-something seamers. All a youngster learns in this environment is how to score cheap runs against a mediocre attack or to take the wickets of faded batters.
And as for the youngsters coming through - the cream of the crop will always find their way into the team and will benefit from the experience and skills they mingle with.
Complain about this postI was at a dinner where David Byas spoke the night before Chris Adams reneged on his promise to join Yorkshire. He wasn't sure what his role would be but he was optimistic about Chris and Antony McGrath and Yorkshire in general. How quickly that all changed.
I expect Younis Khan to be named the new Yorkshire captain mainly because they is no credible alternative. Josh Spencer must be an incredible optimist as Yorkshire have no chance of winning the championship this season and will do well to survive. I am a born and bred Yorkshireman with a passion for cricket but I am also a realist.
The young spinners Lawson and Rashid who kept us up at the end of last season have now lost their "unknown" quality and will be treated with much more respect by the opposition batsmen while Jason Gillespie has already proved that he is not up to leading the bowling attack. The batting will be much improved by our new imports but they will not replace Lehman and it takes a good bowling attack to win Championships.
Finally Maros Kolpak was an unheralded Slovakian handball player, follow the link in the main article.
Complain about this postThe signing of Rudolph is not great for English cricket, but can we please stop saying England are dire in the international arena? Despite losing the ashes 5-0 and being embarassed in the one-day series, we've still got the second best test team in the world. It's so typically English to whinge and moan about everything. 7-0 to England in the tests this summer!
Complain about this postThe signing of Rudolph is not great for English cricket, but can we please stop saying England are dire in the international arena? Despite losing the ashes 5-0 and being embarassed in the one-day series, we've still got the second best test team in the world. It's so typically English to whinge and moan about everything. 7-0 to England in the tests this summer!
Complain about this postI also agree with poster who said Rudolph is missing out due to the quota system. Hashim Amla has never been and never will be good enough to play in tests, yet he is still picked regularly, now that's a disgrace!
I was at a dinner where David Byas spoke the night before Chris Adams reneged on his promise to join Yorkshire. He wasn't sure what his role would be but he was optimistic about Chris and Antony McGrath and Yorkshire in general. How quickly that all changed.
I expect Younis Khan to be named the new Yorkshire captain mainly because they is no credible alternative. Josh Spencer must be an incredible optimist as Yorkshire have no chance of winning the championship this season and will do well to survive. I am a born and bred Yorkshireman with a passion for cricket but I am also a realist.
The young spinners Lawson and Rashid who kept us up at the end of last season have now lost their "unknown" quality and will be treated with much more respect by the opposition batsmen while Jason Gillespie has already proved that he is not up to leading the bowling attack. The batting will be much improved by our new imports but they will not replace Lehman and it takes a good bowling attack to win Championships.
Finally Maros Kolpak was an unheralded Slovakian handball player, follow the link in the main article.
Complain about this postWhy blame Anthony McGrath for Yorkshire's predicament? He is the victim in my view. This dreadful mess is just one more of many appalling examples of Yorkshire mismanagement which appear as if on a never ending conveyor belt.
To see a talented but flawed South African being able to use Yorkshire in this way for his own development in such cynical fashion demonstrates how low Yorkshire CCC has fallen
Complain about this postProtectionism in any market only ever results in holding everyone back. Maybe the reason why our international team is so poor is because players are not being tested to the highest level. We need a big rethink in cricket, and we should start by allowing any county to field any XI it wants, regardless of nationality - otherwise it is institutionalised racism. That to oneside - young cricketers will only benefit from being surrounded by the best and the brightest - as opposed to journeymen who are there to fill the numbers. A good interim step would be to widen the threshold to 3 overseas players and see how that impacts the game.
Complain about this postTo no.17, how'd the hell have you not heard off Jacques Rudolph!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Complain about this postthe problem with england ist class cricket is not the kolpak or overseas cricketers. its actually the amount of county teams. there are too many teams who play the first class cricket. in australia only 6 teams play first class cricket. in australia there are very few cricketers who play first class cricket. less first class teams make strong club cricket system and they also play overseas cricketers in that club cricket. the presence of those cricketers in club cricket actually make club cricket very strong and competitive. in australia they call their club cricket as grade cricket.
if ECB wants to improve the standard of ist class cricket then they should reduce the number of teams to may be 6 or 7. the teams should be divided into different zones of 6 or 7 teams. but in those teams only english qualified players should be allowed to play.
the county cricket should be reduced to club or grade cricket like australia. the overseas or kolpak players should be allowed to play in only county teams not in zonal ist class cricket.
the conclusion is to have less ist class teams like australia and also less ist class cricketers but importantly more strong base for competitive cricket. right now there are too many teams and too many first class cricketers. first class cricket should be more stronger and not every tom dick or harry should be allowed to play that.
Complain about this postRudolf will not return to SA, he's been overlooked and shunted around to many times. I look foreward in seeing him play for England with Petersen and the of the SA outcast within 3 - 4 years. Watch this space.
Regards
Complain about this postPierre van der Riet - Perth - ex SA
My, there's some anti-Yorkshire feeling out there.
Yorkshire have probably brought through more young players than most over the past few years, and I'd still expect to see the young homegrown talent of Joe Sayers, Andrew Gale, Adil Rahid and Mark Lawson making a big impact. However, it's going to do their development no good at all without some experience around them and as we can't expect Vaughan or Hoggard to play next season, Rudolph (and Younis) have an important jobs to do with the youngsters as well as scoring enough runs to keep us up.
Complain about this postI thought Kolpak was what you put in mattresses.
PS If English test players ever had a chance to play for their counties, it would also raise the level of the competition, quite apart from getting them ready to play the tests.
Complain about this postIt will mean a lot more kolpaks in the english system from now on,maybe even some of the players who play in the world cup will jump ship and become a kolpak player just like rudolph especially since the don't have to wait to play county cricket.
Complain about this postIs it all really necessary? I mean Rudolph is a player of undoubted ability and would help the young ones come through in Lehman's absence, but the amount of good youngsters we have at Yorks is frightening. Now Byas has gone, players like Richard Pyrah, Andrew Gale, Joe Sayers, Adil Rashid, Mark Lawson etc can hopefully cement their places in the team after Mags, Lehman and Lumb have left. These lads have pulling up trees for the past few years and have seen their chances limited. This will only serve to limit their chances further and we could be staring down the barrell of another John Sadler episode when our talented youngsters leave the club to prosper at counties more willing to give English youth a chance.
We need to throw them in and give them a run in the side to prove their worth without having to exploit controversial loopholes.
Complain about this postI firmly believe that if possible Yorkshire should field 11 Yorkshire born players. However, current circumstances make the signing of Rudolph justified and necessary. I cannot believe all this false indignation being spouted here. Yorkshire have done more for England then any other county. We play home-grown talent at all times and do not poach from other counties - Adams debacle excepted. Just to remind people, here are some of Yorkshire's recent England players:
Michael Vaughan
Matthew Hoggard
Darren Gough
Anthony McGrath
Craig White
Tim Bresnan
Richard Dawson
Chris Silverwood
Gareth Batty
Ryan Sidebottom
Gavin Hamilton
Apart from Surrey how many other counties can provide such a role-call?
Complain about this postThe comment made by Michael Atkinson, at number 5, is surely the only way around this. If the person comes from or is qualified to play for a test playing nation (so e.g. not the Netherlands like Lefevre and Van Troost of Somerset a while ago), then the deal should be that after being registered as a Kolpak player he needs re-qualify for his home country or alternatively qualify for England. Anything else and the system is completely open to abuse.
Complain about this postYorkshiremaninexile (#38) implies an excellent point. If Yorkshire are producing quality players, who end up playing almost no domestic cricket due to international commitments then surely they are entitled to look for quality replacements.
The alternative is that teams will be encouraged to field players who are quite good, but unlikely to play for England. And that's already what happens in part - it's why a player like Chris Adams is in such demand.
I only wish that my county, Kent, could produce an English player who wasn't either a liability or perhaps a little immobile for the rigours of international cricket...
Complain about this postYorkshiremaninexile (#38) implies an excellent point. If Yorkshire are producing quality players, who end up playing almost no domestic cricket due to international commitments then surely they are entitled to look for quality replacements.
The alternative is that teams will be encouraged to field players who are quite good, but unlikely to play for England. And that's already what happens in part - it's why a player like Chris Adams is in such demand.
I only wish that my county, Kent, could produce an English player who wasn't either a liability or perhaps a little immobile for the rigours of international cricket...
Complain about this postThere appears little doubt that the KOLPAK situation can be justified legally but the moral question is far more important as far as Englisg cricket is concerned. It is quite amazing that the first class counties & now even the PCA seem prepared to turn a blind eye to the fact that places in the first class game are being taken by players who are NOT qualified to play for England - can one imagine any other Test playing country operating a similar system?
Complain about this postThe first class counties & the PCA (especially) should be ashamed of themselves for taking short term remedies & not looking at the bigger picture.
Yorkshire are not the only county doing this. I come from Kent and they have Martin Van Jaarsveld and have just signed another South African under the Kolpak rules. With them then having overseas players as well, there is little hope that any decent players will ever be produced by the county.
They simply do not get the opportunity of a good run in the first team because of these other players which is all to the ultimate detrement of the England team because there are fewer players knowcking on the door of selection. How many times have experts been quoted as saying, "Who else is there ?" when asked about a replacement for an underperforming England player.
This is not the same in Australia when many a time they have someone waiting in the wings who is ready for international cricket and plays better than someone plucked from the county circuit ?
Complain about this postYorkshire are not the only county doing this. I come from Kent and they have Martin Van Jaarsveld and have just signed another South African under the Kolpak rules. With them then having overseas players as well, there is little hope that any decent players will ever be produced by the county.
They simply do not get the opportunity of a good run in the first team because of these other players which is all to the ultimate detrement of the England team because there are fewer players knowcking on the door of selection. How many times have experts been quoted as saying, "Who else is there ?" when asked about a replacement for an underperforming England player.
This is not the same in Australia when many a time they have someone waiting in the wings who is ready for international cricket and plays better than someone plucked from the county circuit ?
Complain about this postWhy is it always Yorkshire - the Chris Adams, David Byas and Anthony McGrath stories? What is it about the administration that creates these situations? But to then criticise them for Rudolph is excessive given that several other counties have in previous years signed international players under this ruling. What if the Zimbabwe administration changed and Streak and the Flower brothers felt like returning to the team? While they are currently playing here legitimately like refugees, what's to stop them from rejoining? And would there be the same hoo hah about it?
Complain about this postI normally have no sympathy with Yorkshire whose mismanagement has caused so much grief in cricket over the years. However in the case of Kolpak and pure self interest they are no different to any other county - sadly.
Complain about this postMark Newton says "As long as they have worked within the rules we are happy."
But that is not true. Yorkshire have forced the ECB into a new public stance. They have pushed the boundaries of the rules more than any other county.
There is a definition of the kolpak ruling on the ECB website including:
There is no residential requirement, but the player must not have played cricket at first-class level or above in the 12 months leading up to the season in question, or must give up playing as a domestic player in his home country (although ECB can exercise its discretion to waive either of these criteria).
The words in brackets have only been added after the Rudolph saga blew up.
Just why is this signing so favourable to the ECB for them to exercise their discretion?
Can't wait to see Rudolph score a big hundered for the Saffers next time they tour over here - preferably at Headingley. What will the ECB say then?
What will the ECB do if Australia sign up to a similar trading agreement with the EU? Let them all in to play?
Complain about this postCouple of points
1st Point - The fines for playing less than 9 englished quailified players should be far much higher than £1000 for a county match and £275 for a one day i am talking £10k plus. We know that county teams dont have the money to pay for that!!!
2nd Point - McGarth has two years to go on his contract and as his will be in breach of his contract Yorkshire wont have to pay him and he wont be able to play for any ECB game from County level to Saturday afternoon. Players want contracts for a reasons so do clubs!!!!
Actually while i have started
3rd Point - when are these people who are making the decisions at the ECB going to listen to the people who watch the game and watch it turn out the summer.
PS
I am a Yorkshire fan but wont be for longer if they sign Gough back
Complain about this postCouple of points
1st Point - The fines for playing less than 9 englished quailified players should be far much higher than £1000 for a county match and £275 for a one day i am talking £10k plus. We know that county teams dont have the money to pay for that!!!
2nd Point - McGarth has two years to go on his contract and as his will be in breach of his contract Yorkshire wont have to pay him and he wont be able to play for any ECB game from County level to Saturday afternoon. Players want contracts for a reasons so do clubs!!!!
Actually while i have started
3rd Point - when are these people who are making the decisions at the ECB going to listen to the people who watch the game and watch it turn out the summer.
PS
I am a Yorkshire fan but wont be for longer if they sign Gough back
Complain about this post
Complain about this postWhy doe's English cricket have to suffer the indignities of having anything to do with this laughable european community?
What do they know about cricket,they do not play our game .
Therefore we feel that if "management" had any backbone, and started to pay more attention to our great game we would all be better off.
Why do we have to have to have these kolpak players? All they do is to prevent some of our good young cricketers from being selected for their counties. All this of course because "management" can only nowaday's think of money before the sport.
Some good things have come from the sport over the last few years,but the players are having to play too many games and do far to much travelling. This in turn will make them more tired than need be,and doe's not do the game any credit. manage the game better in future, and less of the silly meeting and lunches..