Kolpak creating disruptive ripples in South African cricket
Cape Town, by Tristan Holme •
Last updated on Thu, 05 Jan, 2017, 10:56 PM
Kyle Abbott and Rilee Rossouw's departures have hurt South Africa cricket
Over the course of what amounted to a 15-minute exit interview with the media, Kyle Abbott seemed to take on a number of different personas. After reading a brief statement confirming that he was off to Hampshire on a Kolpak, the sadness of leaving the Proteas briefly overcame him. But a few minutes later he was answering a question about his decision by enquiring whether the journalist would like to pay for his groceries for the next 10 years. When the same journalist later asked whether his Hampshire contract precluded any involvement in the IPL, Abbott's tone took on that of the self-congratulatory lawyer. "Oh I've got all my bases covered," he said.
The range of emotions reflected what Abbott must have been through over the past year as he wrestled with the dilemma of giving up his dream job in return for financial security. "There have been a few evenings where I have gone to sleep wondering if I made the right decision," he said, "but I've always woken up the next morning knowing I have. I don't want to regret sitting here in 12 months' time where everyone is fit again and I am wearing a bib and I am 30."
It turns out that he has not been alone in South African circles. Stiaan van Zyl, Simon Harmer and Hardus Viljoen had already signed Kolpak deals and now so has Rilee Rossouw. Other names have been mentioned. The South African dressing room is beginning to resemble England's on the tour of India in 1981/82, when their players were all privately grappling with the prospect of touring apartheid South Africa.
The moral dilemma is rather less spiky now, but the ripples it is creating are just as disruptive. "I don't know if trust has been broken," said coach Russell Domingo. "But there are obviously issues that players haven't been sincere about, because I've been picking guys and they've known that they're done, which sets me back and our team back massively. Kyle was going to open the bowling for us in the Champions Trophy. Now who takes the new ball, 10 ODIs before the Champions Trophy?"
It is not only team planning that these departures are hurting. South Africa's selectors have been left to second-guess themselves because the Kolpak loophole exploited by all five players so far requires a Test cap. "If Kagiso Rabada breaks a finger tomorrow and I ask Duanne Olivier to come and play a Test match, but bear in mind that Kagiso is coming back straight afterwards because he's one of the best bowlers in the world, Duanne might say, 'Well stuff that, when am I going to play again? I'm going to go and sign a Kolpak.' Those are the type of challenges we're sitting with," Domingo noted.
Domingo reserved a particular ire for Rossouw, a player he has personally mentored at national level, picking him in preparation for the 2015 World Cup before standing by him through some lean patches. "He's a guy we backed after five noughts," he said. "If that was a player of colour getting five noughts everyone would have said he was a player of transformation." Domingo had not heard from Rossouw since leaving Australia almost six weeks ago until whispers surfaced that the 27-year-old might be talking to English counties. "To be honest, some of us tried to get hold of him - and this is the truth - and we got an email off his iPhone yesterday telling us he signed a Kolpak."
Russell Domingo said he would like to see CSA tying some of the younger players to longer contracts, citing Kagiso Rabada and Quinton de Kock as examples
South Africa have prided themselves on a strong squad culture over the past few years, something they thought they had renewed during a 'culture camp' midway through the year. Suddenly it all looks a little fragile, even after beating Australia in seven straight matches as well as making Sri Lanka look horribly second-rate.
On an administrative level, CSA have been caught unawares and are equally disappointed by losing a player like Rossouw. "We invest huge sums of money in every individual, and if you take Rilee by way of example, I don't know how many months we have been treating his injuries and investing in him," said chief executive Haroon Lorgat. "Sadly there's no return for us in the years to come. Instead of crying over that spilt milk we will invest in young South Africans who avail themselves to play for the Proteas."
To that end, the CSA cricket committee decided in a meeting on Thursday (January 5) to place a cap on Kolpak players in South African domestic cricket. Unlike in England, where the counties are able to resist such moves, CSA call all the shots in their leagues and the cap will likely be ratified at the next CSA board meeting. Other suggestions may come out of the domestic review that is in its final stages, such as an increase in the number of franchises. South Africa only have six, which means that just 30 white players can take the field on any given weekend because of the quotas in place.
Abbott insisted that quotas had nothing to do with his decision. "Ever since I played professional cricket in South Africa, there has always been a quota system. Even from young ages," he said. "I have never used it as an excuse and I won't use it as an excuse now." But it must be playing on some cricketers' minds.
Domingo said he would like to see CSA tying some of the younger players to longer contracts, citing Kagiso Rabada and Quinton de Kock as examples. Currently the top players are given two-year central contracts while everyone else only gets one year. Lorgat hopes that the relaunch of the domestic Twenty20 league will make it more lucrative for those players who stay in South Africa.
Of course, Kolpak won't go on forever - Britain are expected to leave the European Union in the next few months. But that won't prevent players with British passports from continuing to abandon South Africa, with young white players particularly likely to take that route.
"It's important that we, as the Proteas and as Cricket South Africa, look at how we can learn from this and make sure that this isn't something that, two years from now, has meant we've lost 10 or 15 players and we say, 'Oopsie'," said Faf du Plessis. "There's too much talent in South Africa to lose guys like that."
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