"Foreigners" for England

[Richie Benauds Love Child]

Perhaps a fake beard and sunglasses.

But on a serious and rather cynical note, shout racism or something along those lines..right to work/play for country of their choice etc etc. Make enough noises in those directions, lean on the likes of bang and kenya who arent averse to using "foreign" players, and we might get a result.

[Ernest]

Originally Posted by Glamorgan Wanderer

Afternoon Ernest

You meant English or Welsh of course!

IMHO if a player is good enough he will be selected (either for a county side in the first instance or later internationally) wherever he happens to be from.

Yes of couse I meant welsh as well,they are part of the same board.

Hi G W

I am not against overseas players playing in county teams,They have given great pleasure to us over the years,but you have to draw the line someware,I mean people are saying S Law,should play for England(and I am a Lancastrian)why should he ,he is Australian,and no matter how long he has lived here,he is still an Australian citizen.Thats were letting players like Lamb,greig,and other play,was the thin end of the wedge.

It looks poor if we cant find players in Britain in general,and England and wales in particular,who are good enough to play for England.
It is not a matter I feel passionate about,its just a matter of preference really.

Ernest

[high_on_linseed]

Eek, we might get a whole generation of Jack Russell imitators...turning up to the Academy in big floppy hats, sunglasses, and false handlebar tashes!

Seriously, I wonder if the academy is monitored by the ICC. If not, what is to stop anyone just turning up, under the academys approval of course and getting coaching tips from Troy and the gang?

[Glamorgan Wanderer]

Pietersen's selection for the Academy this winter suggests that eligibility for the full side isn't a consideration.

[cantplaycantalk]

I don't have a problem with a player who hasd played for one test team changing nationality. The reason is simple, look at the cases of the Zim rebels.

I have a hypothetical case for you, Taibu falls from favour with Mugabe because he cannot turn a bunch of no-hopers into a decent test quality team. He speaks out against the regime and has to leave the country... He could be playing for a new country at an age when most players are still struggling to break into the county side.

Four years later he is qualified to play for SA or Kenya or even the UK. The same goes for the current rebels, except of course most of these guys will have retired by the time the 4 years is up.

Putting it simply, if they can't change country then you are letting Mugabe or any other idiot with enough power destroy a players career for non-cricketing reasons.

What would you say if say Pakistan had thrown out Shoaib in an attempt to find a scapegoat, or if his treatment had been so bad that he walked away in disgust?
How about if Henry Olonga had said that he wanted to play cricket when he left Zimbabwe, and wanted to play for a country that was willing to stand up for the rights of all its citizens of all colours?

[Glamorgan Wanderer]

CPCT,

The examples you have set out all have merit to a varying extent (the example of Shoaib walking out on Pakistan in a huff being the weakest IMHO).

However, what would happen during the qualifying period?

Would the player wishing to qualify for a new country be eligible for selection for his 'old' country during the qualifying period (and in the event that the situation is his 'old' country changed to his liking could he simply say "sod this I'm off back home"?)?

Would the player remain eligible for selection by his 'old' country after he has become eligible for his 'new' country (after all Stuart Law will qualify by residency - there is nothing he can do to stop that - but he is still Australian and therefore still eligible to play for them as unlikely as that may be)? By corrollary could a player play for his 'new' country in one series and his 'old' country in the next?

Finally, as to players not being selected for 'non cricketing reasons' this has been going on as long as the game itself and applies equally to other sports. Non-cricketing reasons can extend to the fact that the coach doesn't like you for some reason (for instance it is rumoured that one Welsh rugby player of a reasonably recent vintage was not selected to play for Wales when he should have been because he had previously had an affair with one of the coaching staff's wife).