***Official*** English Domestic Season 2008

[morgieb]

Anyway amongst the many surveys and lists we've had on CW in recent times, here's another quick one. I reckon there are 96 overseas-players who've played First-Class cricket for a county this season, be they England-qualified (by residence, marriage, parentage or birth) or not (this excludes Hick, Caddick, Pietersen and Trott, who would qualify if they hadn't played for England, though Pattinson is included as he should never have gotten near England selection).

They fit the following categories:
Overseas-player - player who has no connection to Britain or The UK, and is playing purely because the ECB has decided to allow them to. If this invitation was withdrawn, these players would not be able to play for a county.
EU-passport player - player who the ECB cannot bar from being signed as a pro due to the current EU law (which does not recognise professional sport as any different to any other profession), but who are in no way British.
Kolpak or Kolpak-eligable player - these may soon be a thing of the past, but right now and for the past 4 years anyone with a South African, Zimbabwean or West Indian passport has been able to be employed as if they were British.
British passport of convenience players - players who are in essence foreign, and have learned their cricket overseas, but have acquired British passports and can now be employed as British citizens.

Overseas: Chris Rogers, Danish Kaneria, Jason Gillespie, Marcus North, Shane Bond, Yasir Arafat, Brad Hodge, Mohammad Yousuf, Lou Vincent, Murali Kartik, Adam Voges, Justin Langer, Matthew Nicholson, Abdur Razzaq, Shoaib Akhtar, Mushtaq Ahmed, Mohammad Sami, Chris Martin, Steve Magoffin, Dilhara Fernando, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan.
EU-passport: Michael di Venuto, Paul Wiseman, Ryan ten Doeschate, Nic Pothas, Dirk Nannes.
Kolpak or Kolpak-eligable: Wavell Hinds, Charl Langeveldt, Greg Smith, Dominic Telo, Neil McKenzie, Albie Morkel, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Dale Benkenstein, Garry Park, Andre Nel, Grant Flower, Grant Hodnett, Mornantau Hayward, Rory Kleinveldt, Imran Tahir, Sean Ervine, Martin van Jaarsveld, Justin Kemp, Ryan McLaren, Francois du Plessis, Boeta Dippenaar, Hylton Ackerman, Claude Henderson, Jermaine Lawson, Dillon du Preez, Garnett Kruger, Jacques du Toit, Vernon Philander, Johann Louw, Andrew Hall, Lance Klusener, Nico Boje, Johannes van der Wath, Riki Wessels, Ashwell Prince, Andre Adams, Zander de Bruyn, Craig Kieswetter, Alfonso Thomas, Charl Willoughby, Pedro Collins, Murray Goodwin, Corey Collymore, Monde Zondeki, Morne Morkel, Jacques Rudolph, Gideon Kruis.
British-passport of convenience: Mitchell Claydon, Callum Thorp, Gareth Berg, Andrew Crook, Steven Crook, Murtaza Hussain, Stewart Walters, Chris Jordan, Ryan Harris, Raghab Aga, Ant Botha, Neil Carter, Tim Groenewald, Hamish Marshall, Azhar Mahmood, James Allenby, Darren Pattinson, Saqlain Mushtaq, Dawid Malan, Neil Dexter, Stephen Moore, Matthew Mason. Craig Spearman, Stuart Law.

The big trouble here is the number of third-rate players in the one category which the ECB has no power to remove. Of those who have British passports, only Hamish Marshall, Azhar Mahmood, Allenby, Pattinson, Saqlain Mushtaq, Malan, Dexter, Moore and Mason really do much if anything for the standard. The other 15 we could quite happily do without, including Spearman and Law who surely can't have long left.

The bolded aren't Kolpaks.

 

[Richard]

I'm aware of that, but I fairly clearly stated those in that part of the list either are or could be if they were barred from being overseas-players. And each of those are as eligable for Kolpak status as anyone who has taken it.

 

[morgieb]

I'm aware of that, but I fairly clearly stated those in that part of the list either are or could be if they were barred from being overseas-players. And each of those are as eligable for Kolpak status as anyone who has taken it.

I'm pretty sure Tahir is Pakistani, and Chanderpaul & Morkel are in international cricket, so they can't take it up.

 

[brockley]

http://www.cricketeurope4.net/DATABASE/ARTICLES2/articles/000044/004450.shtml
Dirk nannes called up for the dutch national squad.

 

[superkingdave]

Geez has anyone seen the pland for the redevlopment of Old Trafford...looks even uglier than it does now. Does anyone have a clue on the committe at the moment?

 

[_Ed_]

Yeah I saw that. It looks....interesting.

 

[Richard]

I'm pretty sure Tahir is Pakistani, and Chanderpaul & Morkel are in international cricket, so they can't take it up.

Tahir will soon be South African so hence would qualify and it doesn't matter if you're currently playing international cricket (as many of those were), you can still be a Kolpak player.

Or, hopefully, could.

 

[Richard]

http://www.cricketeurope4.net/DATABASE/ARTICLES2/articles/000044/004450.shtml
Dirk nannes called up for the dutch national squad.

It's almost as ludicrous as Hemp playing for Bermuda.

 

[TT Boy]

It's almost as ludicrous as Hemp playing for Bermuda.

Not really. Nannes is just as Dutch as Kevin Pietersen is English.

Hopefully Victoria don't put a wall in the way stopping Nannes from playing for the Netherlands. Be a top coup if he does turn out for them. I watched a bit of him this year for Middlesex and he was pretty impressive, deceptively quick and he could swing the ball fairly late into the right handers.

 

[Richard]

Not really. Nannes is just as Dutch as Kevin Pietersen is English.

If I'd have given the matter serious thought in 2000 I'd probably have said the idea of Pietersen playing for England was ludicrous too. Ditto Jonathan Trott. I'm completely used to the idea now so don't really find it odd, but I guess I will from now on - if, say, Rudolph and McLaren end-up playing for England.

Nannes is 100% Australian AFAIC. His parents might be Dutch but he is not.

 

[TT Boy]

If I'd have given the matter serious thought in 2000 I'd probably have said the idea of Pietersen playing for England was ludicrous too. Ditto Jonathan Trott. I'm completely used to the idea now so don't really find it odd, but I guess I will from now on - if, say, Rudolph and McLaren end-up playing for England.

Nannes is 100% Australian AFAIC. His parents might be Dutch but he is not.

Rudolph and McLaren would be extremely strange for they are 100% Yarpies, Afrikaner farm boys but KP and Trott are at least from areas and have a heritage which has some semblance of ‘Britishness’. Rudolph when he was my age struggled to even string a few English words together.

 

[GIMH]

If I'd have given the matter serious thought in 2000 I'd probably have said the idea of Pietersen playing for England was ludicrous too. Ditto Jonathan Trott. I'm completely used to the idea now so don't really find it odd, but I guess I will from now on - if, say, Rudolph and McLaren end-up playing for England.

Nannes is 100% Australian AFAIC. His parents might be Dutch but he is not.

If both of his parents are Dutch then there is surely zero argument against him representing them.

 

[Uppercut]

Just returned from five days of internet wilderness, so hey- how on earth did Lancashire recover?!

 

[Langeveldt]

Rudolph and McLaren would be extremely strange for they are 100% Yarpies, Afrikaner farm boys but KP and Trott are at least from areas and have a heritage which has some semblance of ‘Britishness’. Rudolph when he was my age struggled to even string a few English words together.

Allan Donald didn't speak a word of English until he was thirteen, then he ended up being their bowling coach.. Not a huge argument you've got going there I'm afraid

 

[fredfertang]

Just returned from five days of internet wilderness, so hey- how on earth did Lancashire recover?!

Glen Chapple

 

[Uppercut]

Glen Chapple

Ah, the amount of cricket i shall be watching next summer...

 

[TT Boy]

Allan Donald didn't speak a word of English until he was thirteen, then he ended up being their bowling coach.. Not a huge argument you've got going there I'm afraid

Being a part time bowling coach for the summer is a bit different from playing. South Africa’s A current coach is English.

 

[fredfertang]

Chappy wins one game off his own bat (and ball) most seasons - had feared he was too long in the tooth now - never more pleased to have been proved wrong than last week

 

[Uppercut]

Chappy wins one game off his own bat (and ball) most seasons - had feared he was too long in the tooth now - never more pleased to have been proved wrong than last week

Amazing how Kent can go from challenging for the title to fighting relegation in a day. What a tournament.

 

[GIMH]

Yeah, you can criticise bonus points until the cows come home (justifiably so tbh) but they seem to be the big factor in making it such a close league every year.