One More South Africa Star Negotiates Kolpak Deal

The Kolpak is once again looking set to come back and haunt South Africa cricket. The Proteas have lost a number of talented players in recent years due to the Kolpak and another player is gearing up to take the same route. Since 2014, a total of 15 players from South Africa have given up their international careers to sign a Kolpak deal and move to the UK.

The likes of Colin Ingram, Duanne Olivier, Wayne Parnell, Rilee Rossouw, Kyle Abbott are some of the big names who have taken the Kolpak route. And the player who now looks set to take this route is Dane Paterson, a fast bowler who played in South Africa’s most recent two Test matches.

The fast-bowler is negotiating a Kolpak deal to play county cricket in England, according to Ashwell Prince, his franchise coach. The former South Africa batsman said that 31-year old Dane Paterson was in the final stages of concluding a deal with the unnamed county.

Prince was explaining why Dane Paterson’s name was missing from a list of players contracted by the Cape Cobras franchise for the 2020/21 season announced at a press conference on Monday. The fast-bowler played in the third and fourth Tests against England in January, taking four wickets at an average of 41.50.

Prince said that Dane Paterson failing to make the cut for the white-ball series against England and Australia after the Tests against England was a factor in the player’s decision. Previously, the bowler had represented the Proteas in ODIs and T20Is.

If Dane Paterson concludes a deal, he could be the last of dozens of South Africans to benefit from the Kolpak ruling. With Britain having left the EU, Kolpak deals in England are due to expire at the end of the 2020 season, which has been postponed because of the COVID-19 outbreak.

A Cape Cobras spokesman said that Paterson’s deal was subject to approval from the England and Wales Cricket Board. If approval was not forthcoming the county would sign Paterson as an overseas player.

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