SA rocked by signing of Kolpak deals
Two fast bowlers‚ a short format allrounder‚ an offspinner‚ a middle order batsman and an opening batsman – both left-handed – walk into a pub somewhere in deepest‚ palest‚ middle England and say‚ “Howzit.”
They are‚ respectively‚ Kyle Abbott and Hardus Viljoen‚ David Wiese‚ Simon Harmer‚ and Rilee Rossouw and Stiaan van Zyl.
Those players make up more than half a decent side‚ and they have all signed Kolpak deals in recent months – which takes them out of the equation for selection for South Africa‚ which have all earned.
Their collective contribution to the cause amounts to 29 Tests‚ 70 one-day appearances and 56 T20 games.
All told that’s 155 caps worth of international experience taken out of the system.
Measuring how much the game in this country has lost on its years of investment in players who use it to buy their ticket to England is more difficult.
But there’s no doubting that South African cricket has been rocked by the steady stream of Kolpak defectors.
It’s as if we’ve caught our they significant on us.
Add a national flag to any team’s badge and they become a focus of misplaced patriotism.
It shouldn’t matter where professionals decide to ply their trade‚ regardless of where they were born.
For instance‚ how many South Africans are unhappy that Welkom-born‚ Cape Town-raised Mark Shuttleworth lives on the Isle of Man?
But the stock market scoreboard does not push South Africans’ buttons others cheating nearly as effectively as events on a cricket ground.
“It’s disappointing to lose players of the calibre of Kyle and Rilee but you can’t blame these players‚ or any of the Kolpak players‚ for going this route‚” Tony Irish‚ the chief executive of the South African Cricketers’ Association‚ said.
“They are going to environments where they believe they will be more secure in their careers.
“We need to look more critically at how we can make players more secure in the South African environment. This is not just about money but about other issues that matter to players.