Maros Kolpak, the Slovakian handball player, would probably raise a smile if he knew the ripples he has caused the game of cricket with the historic European Court of Justice ruling on May 8, 2003.
That his cause continues to have potential consequences as far away as Taunton or Canterbury is due to Kolpak’s country of origin having an associate trading relationship with the EU at the time of the ruling. Therefore, players from cricketing nations such as South Africa, with a similar EU trade agreement, have been allowed to slip under the radar as non-overseas players.
That, though, might all be about to change. The warning signs were there when officials from the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and Cricket South Africa (CSA) met earlier in the year to consider ways of minimising the influx from Kolpak countries. While the ECB remains concerned that Kolpak players restrict the opportunities of young English-born players, the CSA has seen the first sign of young talent, namely Vaughn van Jaarsveld‘s move to Warwickshire, deserting an international career in favour of county cricket.
At the start of the 2007 season, there were 15 Kolpak players playing for 11 first class counties. As taking the Kolpak route involves renouncing international aspirations, the players that come to ply their trade on the county circuit tend to be those who are in the autumn of their careers. Thus, the argument goes, county cricket is being littered with cricketers adding little intrinsic value to the county cricket system, while potential future Michael Vaughans are being lost forever.
Counties such as Somerset, having secured promotion to Division One in both formats of the game, might be tempted to disagree. SA swing bowler Charl Willoughby has proved the mainstay of the Somerset attack, alongside Andy Caddick, with 62 wickets in the LV County Championship alone. Intriguingly, a county like Somerset remains at the heart of the Kolpak debate.
When second overseas player Cameron White returned to Australia, Somerset wasted no time in signing SA batsman Neil McKenzie who promptly hit 271 County Championship runs in just three matches at an average of 67.75. However, at the end of the season, Somerset released seamer Gareth Andrew and opening batsman Matt Wood that had the Somerset CCC forums buzzing. The players in question were snapped up by Worcestershire and Nottinghamshire respectively but had they been victims of Kolpak?
The latest development which, if passed, will send another shock wave through English cricket is Cricket South Africa’s ruling that anyone unavailable for the national team (namely Kolpak players) cannot feature as a non-overseas player in the domestic Supersport Series. With the ECB having agreed to reduce the number of overseas cricketers to just one slot from 2008, Kolpak players have some difficult decisions ahead, as do the counties that currently employ them.
KOLPAK PLAYERS FROM THE START OF 2007
Derbyshire - Greg Smith
Essex - Grant Flower
Gloucestershire - Anthony Ireland
Kent - Ryan McLaren, Martin van Jaarsveld
Leicestershire - Hylton Ackerman, Claude Henderson
Northamptonshire - Lance Klusener, Riki Wessels
Somerset - Charl Willoughby
Sussex - Murray Goodwin
Warwickshire Heath Streak
Worcestershire - Ray Price
Yorkshire - Gideon Kruis, Jacques Rudolph
