turning your back on International cricket

i can't believe this can happen, for example, to me it'd be like Glenelg getting Lachie Neale & Bryce Gibbs back rather than them playing as a professional



http://www.cricket.com.au/news/david-weise-kolpak-south-africa-t20-twenty20-cricket-sri-lanka-squad/2017-01-10


South Africa's second string T20 team has been further weakened by yet another key player turning his back on the country for English cricket
David Wiese has become the latest South African cricketer to walk away from an international career to sign a Kolpak contract to play English county cricket. The 31-year-old fast bowler has played 20 T20 matches for South Africa and six one-day internationals but is no longer eligible to play for his country after penning a three year deal with Sussex. Wiese had been expected to feature in South Africa's T20 squad to play Sri Lanka in a series of matches. The move follows the shock move by South Africa Test quick Kyle Abbott to walk away from his international career for a Kolpak deal with Hamphsire. Quick Single: Abbott, Rossouw part with Proteas One-day specialist Rilee Rossouw followed the same path, and a string of lower-profile South Africans have followed in their footsteps in recent months. Following Abbott and Rossouw's revelations, Cricket South Africa moved to immediately cancel their contracts. The contracts are named after a Slovak handball player who won a ruling that gives anyone with a work permit from a country which has an associate trading agreement with the European Union the same rights as an EU worker. South Africa have named a squad devoid of any of the players who featured in the Test series victory against Sri Lanka – a move similar to what Australia is expected to do for their own T20 series with Sri Lanka later this summer. While South Africa have been weakened by the Kolpak defections and have opted to rest key players, Australia's hand is forced by scheduling issues after the BCCI scheduled the first Test to begin the day after the third and final T20 in Adelaide. South Africa's T20 team will be now be led by allrounder Farhaan Behardien, and feature five players uncapped at international level, as well as allrounder Andile Phehlukwayo who has played ODIs but is uncapped in T20 internationals. Star batter AB de Villiers, who has not played since June last year because of an elbow injury, and fast bowler Morne Morkel, recovering from a back injury, are due to play in a domestic one-day game on January 22 and may be considered for the third and final T20 international, in Cape Town on January 25. South Africa T20 squad: Farhaan Behardien (captain), Theunis de Bruyn, Reeza Hendricks, Imran Tahir, Heino Kuhn, David Miller, Mangaliso Mosehle (wkt), Lungi Ngidi, Wayne Parnell, Dane Paterson, Aaron Phangiso, Andile Phehlukwayo, Jon-Jon Smuts.

I can understand why, particularly in Abbott's case. Due to the quota requirement in picking South African teams, Abbott is the third white bowler in the ranking behind Steyn and Morkel. They can usually only fit 2 white bowlers in the team unless their are a lot of African batsmen. The guy got dropped from the world Cup semi final due to the quota system despite being their best bowler in the tournament.

If you are a professional sportsmen and have turned 30 you need to make your money while you can. The choice between a guaranteed County contract and being a fringe player whose selection (and income) depends not on your performance but what the racial makeup of the team is seems clear.