Dwayne Smith last played for the West Indies two years ago

Cricketers such as Barbadians Dwayne Smith (Sussex) and Pedro Collins (Surrey) and Jamaican Wavell Hinds (Derbyshire) have been released by their counties.

Only players who have held a valid work permit for four years will be able to continue to be employed as though they were European Union citizens by counties.

That is unless they have played one Test match in the past two years or five Test matches in the past five.

Counties had exploited a legal loophole established by Slovakian Maros Kolpak.

A European Court of Justice ruling in 2003 went in favour of the handball player, who was seeking work in Germany.

Kolpak's legal action allowed players from countries and regions with trade agreements with the European Union - such as South Africa and the West Indies - to be treated as non-overseas players.

It led to a group of West Indian players such as Smith, Hinds, and Collins effectively turning their backs on the Caribbean test side and train their sights on an English payday.

The new restrictions effectively made them vulnerable partly because of their recent lack of international cricket.

But it has allowed a West Indies test reject like Jamaican Daren Powell to go the other way next year to Lancashire.

The change is considered a huge victory for the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

Set to plummet

It has lobbied hard through government channels, to prevent players - mostly from South Africa - freely occupying county places it believes should go to English-qualified players.

Having been frustrated by the reluctance of counties to impose any natural restriction on the foreign imports, the ECB realised early last summer it would have to seek a change in the law to stem the flow.

The so-called "Kolpak" players, already heavily down last season, are set to plummet further from their peak in 2008.

That summer, the situation reached a head when 11 Kolpak players took the field in a Northants v Leicestershire match.

A significant percentage of the annual ECB handout to counties is now supplied on a per capita basis for England-qualified players in each squad.

That forced Kolpak registrations to fall markedly in 2009.

One player who was close to being snared was Yorkshire's prolific batsman Jacques Rudolph of South Africa.

Dying breed

But a club spokesman told BBC Sport: "He last played Test cricket in 2006, which is recent enough for him to play as a Kolpak next season.

"By the time 2011 starts he will have played for us for four years so as far as we are aware he can continue to play with us indefinitely."

	Shivnarine Chanderpaul has performed well for Durham

However, the new regulation will severely limit new Kolpak candidates, and such players could in effect be a dying breed.

An ECB spokesman said: "We are proposing new regulations will be imposed next year governing the availability of Kolpak or overseas players."

Sussex's chief executive Dave Brooks has to stomach losing Smith next season unless he signs him as the permitted second overseas player - specifically allowed for Twenty20 cricket only.

And he said that in the long term, it could be "a good thing" for the English game that the Kolpaks were slowly being rooted out.

"It's unfortunate that it affects certain individuals, and Dwayne is one of those," added Brooks.

Some may not have justified the faith placed in them.

Collins, who has played 32 Test matches for the West Indies, was at the Oval for two years, taking 43 wickets at the unflattering average of 37.86.

Powell will hope to do better than his fast bowling counterpart.

Birthplace

Lancashire head coach Peter Moores said: "Daren is a talented bowler with genuine pace, who will compliment our existing bowling unit."

Some line-ups are not yet completed but the turn-out of West Indians next year looks thin.

Somerset released Omari Banks whose birthplace in the British territory of Anguilla qualified him as an home player. He went because of poor returns.

The same cannot be said for Shivnarine Chanderpaul who helped Durham to the county championship.

Captain Will Smith has said Chanderpaul has "probably" played his last game for the county.

Press reports have suggested it could be related partly to financial restrictions.