How Brexit put Kolpak deals at risk and led to demise of South Africa
More players are leaving for English domestic cricket while they can, writes
South Africa’s World Cup campaign comes to an early conclusion today, and for most of the players and their supporters, the end cannot come soon enough. Having made it to the semi-finals of two of the past three editions of cricket’s flagship tournament, and started the tournament ranked No 3 in the world, they have sunk without trace in England, winning just twice, against Afghanistan and Sri Lanka. For a team who had not lost a 50-over series in the 12 months prior to the tournament, it has been a desperate fall from grace.
Desperate, but not entirely unexpected. The self-enforced exile of their best batsman, AB de Villiers, and an injury to their most renowned bowler, Dale Steyn, cast a cloud from the start, and after the second of their defeats, by Bangladesh, former Proteas were already beginning the inquest into a doomed campaign.
“We can have a go at the team and the players, but they are probably the best we’ve got at the moment, and they’re only products of the system,” former Test player Pat Symcox told South Africa’s The
Citizen. “I have no confidence in the system or the production line any more, and this can’t be turned around by one or two players.”
But what is at the root of this systemic failing? There have been selection controversies, true, but the source of the problem can be attributed, like so much else, to Brexit.
Britain’s decision to leave the European Union left South Africa’s English-based players unsure of how long “Kolpak” contracts would be available for them. The Kolpak rule allows citizens of countries that are part of European Union association agreements to work in any EU country. A player can no longer play for their nation once they have signed a Kolpak deal, but some can earn significantly more by solely playing English domestic cricket. The financial security Kolpak deals provide, combined with the uncertainty of the future availability of such contracts, led many to take the leap.
Since the 2016 referendum, 12 South African players have signed Kolpak deals. In the previous six years, only six had. Previously, players signed these deals towards the end of their careers – a trend which accounted for the likes of Morne Morkel turning his back on the international arena to sign a two-year contract with Surrey in 2018.
Now, however, some are quitting international cricket in their prime. Take Kyle Abbott. At the 2015 World Cup, he took nine wickets at an average of 14.44 as South Africa reached the semi-finals, where they lost to New Zealand. But the prospect of repeating those heroics in 2019 was not enough to dissuade him from signing for Hampshire on a four-year contract in 2017, aged 29.
He was joined on the south coast by short-form specialist batsman Rilee Rossouw, who had scored 210 runs at 52.50 in the 2015 World Cup. The latter had been tipped as the next De Villiers by then-coach Russell Domingo, who failed to hide his dismay at the time.
“We got an email telling us he has signed Kolpak,” Domingo said. “He spelt my name wrong for starters – he put one ‘l’ instead of two. I’m very disappointed in him.”
Abbott and Roussow have been integral to Hampshire’s success in the 50-over format – they won the Royal London One-day Cup in 2018 and reached the final this year, with Abbott taking 20 wickets – but the county is far from alone in profiting at South Africa’s expense.
Left-armer Wayne Parnell could have been the bowling wild card South Africa needed this year, but instead Worcestershire benefited as he took 22 wickets at 18.86.
The biggest loss of all, however, was Duanne Olivier, who, at the age of 26, signed a Kolpak deal with Yorkshire worth £150,000 a year. He had taken 31 wickets in his previous five Tests and had just broken into the ODI side with the prospect of a place in South Africa’s World Cup squad likely.
The talent drain will not end any time soon, according to South Africa captain Faf du Plessis. “For the Test players the Kolpak option is the dangling carrot and then for your white-ball specialist it is probably the T20 circuit,” Du Plessis said.
South Africa’s players have not showed up, yes. But the exodus of players to English domestic cricket has left the side depleted of depth and variety. The psychological and physical impact of this can no longer be underestimated.