Yorkshire have announced a major coup with the signing of South Africa pace ace Duanne Olivier.
The 26-year-old has turned his back on a promising international career with South Africa by penning a three-year contract with Yorkshire, the county announced on Tuesday, February 26. The deal will be completed after the clearance of Kolpak regulations.
For Olivier, who has taken 48 wickets in just 10 Tests for South Africa at 19.25, it was all about staying true to himself. “I would be lying if I said this wasn’t a difficult decision to make,” said Olivier. “It’s giving up playing for my country, with no guarantees of playing international cricket again.
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“But at the end of the day, I needed to be true to myself. I’ve only got this one chance to see where my talent can take me, and Yorkshire just felt right to me.”
“He was not short of opportunity either as he played in all six Test matches against Pakistan and Sri Lanka during the current summer and was also considered for white-ball selection.
“If one looks at the bigger picture this is not good news for the global game either that a player who has just broken into the top 20 on the ICC Test bowling rankings for the first time should opt effectively to bring down the curtain on his international career in favour of playing only in domestic leagues.”
Wow, turning your back on test cricket #Olivier. SA need to address this or all their best players will leave for cash. I’d give my left nut to play test cricket again
— Graham Onions (@BunnyOnions) February 26, 2019
Martyn Moxon, the Yorkshire director of cricket, said he was “delighted” with the deal, and hoped to keep Olivier at Yorkshire for longer than three years.
The deal is still subject to clearance of the Kolpak deal regulations, but that is considered a formality. With Brexit looming ever closer, counties are expected to tie down more players on Kolpak contracts as such deals are unlikely to be sanctioned after Britain’s impending exit from the European Union.
