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8 barred from playing in SA
06/05/2008 22:03 - (SA)
Altus Momberg, Die Burger
Cape Town - South Africans who are involved in the Indian Cricket League will not be permitted to play in their own country's domestic cricket competitions in the foreseeable future.
Tony Irish, chief executive of the SA Cricketers' Association, said on Tuesday that a successful appeal by three South Africans against the England Cricket Board had no bearing on South Africa.
Former Proteas Andrew Hall, Justin Kemp and Johan van der Wath last week won their action against the ECB to be permitted to play country cricket.
They are among eight South Africans who signed to play in the "rebel" Indian Cricket League (ICL) and have been ruled out of playing in SA competitions.
Hall said after their successful appeal that they were hoping to apply similar pressure on Cricket SA to be allowed to play in their own country again.
Irish explained that the South Africans in the ICL had not been banned by Cricket SA.
"However, there is an agreement among the various franchises not to select these players," he added.
"One cannot force a team to select anyone. Therefore, these players will not be selected until one of the franchises breaks the agreement."
Did not last for a full season
There is nothing to prevent any of the franchises from selecting any of the "rebels".
But informal agreements of this nature have been sidestepped in international sport before. English counties had an agreement to govern the number of Kolpak players they would choose. It did not last for a full season.
The Indian Cricket League is one of two Twenty20 competitions that have lured many top players to India.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) is recognised by that country's cricket control board, the BCCI, as well as the International Cricket Council. The ICL enjoys no such recognition.
The BCCI has been exerting intense pressure on ICC member countries to prevent their players from taking part in the "rebel" series.
For that reason, Cricket SA and the ECB tried to penalise players for taking part in ICL matches.
The South Africans who signed to play in the "rebel series" are Hall, Van der Wath, Kemp, Nicky Bojé, Dale Benkenstein, Lance Klusener, Nantie Hayward and Nic Pothas.
Pothas has not played in South Africa for several years and the ruling does not really apply to him.
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Rugby
