The Kolpak ruling was made on 8 May 2003 in favour of Slovak handball player Maroš Kolpak, by the European Court of Justice. Maroš Kolpak had lost his contract with German handball club TSV Ostringen, as his team already had two non-EU players. Kolpak appealed to the European Court of Justice, claiming that he should not be considered as a non-EU player as he was a German resident, and Slovakia was part of the European Union Association Agreement. The court ruled in favour of Kolpak, and allowed citizens of countries that had free trade treaties with the EU, and were part of European Union Association Agreements, to work in any EU country. In March 2004, South African cricketer Claude Henderson became the first player to sign a Kolpak agreement, which ended his international career.

The ruling allowed citizens of around 100 nations to play cricket in any EU nation without being considered as an overseas player. The Cotonou Agreement allows the citizens of most Caribbean and African nations to be eligible for signing Kolpak agreements. However, the British Home Office stipulates that a player must have a valid work permit for four years or must have a specified number of appearances in international cricket to sign a Kolpak deal. Kolpak players older than 18 years can qualify to represent England after playing for seven years for a county and gaining citizenship. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) pays £1,100 less to a county for each County Championship game and £275 less for each One Day match per Kolpak player who plays instead of a domestic cricketer. This is aimed at reducing the mass arrivals of overseas players into county cricket.

Cricketers born in British overseas territories can play county cricket as locals and need not sign Kolpak agreements. For instance, Omari Banks, who has played for the West Indies, was eligible to play for Leicestershire and Somerset as a local player because he is from Anguilla (a British overseas territory).

Kolpak deals are not possible once Britain withdrew from the European Union as part of Brexit.

List of players

Year Name Country County team(s) Notes Ref(s)2004Claude HendersonLeicestershireHenderson was the first player to sign under the Kolpak rule2004Grant FlowerEssexHis brother Andy Flower also played for Essex, but he held a British passport. Grant returned to represent Zimbabwe in 2010.2004Greg SmithDerbyshire, EssexSmith joined Essex in 2011, again as a Kolpak player. He is South African, though he has never played international cricket.2004Ottis GibsonLeicestershire2005Riki WesselsNorthamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, WorcestershireRiki is the son of former cricketer Kepler Wessels. He joined Nottinghamshire in 2011 on a Tier 1 Entrepreneur Visa. Ian Marshall 2005Charl WilloughbyLeicestershire, Somerset Willoughby joined Somerset in 2006 and qualified as a UK resident in 2011Ian Marshall 2005Martin van JaarsveldKent, GlamorganVan Jaarsveld moved to Glamorgan in 20122005Murray GoodwinSussexGoodwin had earlier represented Sussex from 2001 as an overseas player 2005Zander de BruynWorcestershire, Somerset, Surrey2006Lance KlusenerNorthamptonshire2006Paul HarrisWarwickshireHarris left the county when he was selected for the South African Test side in 20072007Anthony IrelandGloucestershire, MiddlesexIreland moved to Middlesex in 2011, again as a Kolpak playerIan Marshall 2007Faf du PlessisLancashiredu Plessis returned to South Africa when the new rules were formed in 2010 and made his ODI debut in 2011.2007Garnett KrugerLeicestershire Kruger joined Glamorgan for the 2009 season2007Jacques RudolphYorkshireRudolph left Yorkshire in 2011 to play for South Africa again. He later represented Surrey and Glamorgan as an overseas player.2007Pedro CollinsSurrey, MiddlesexHe moved to Middlesex in 2010, again as Kolpak player2007Ryan McLarenKentMcLaren left Kent in 2009 to play for South Africa again. He later represented Middlesex, Hampshire and Lancashire as an overseas player.2007Tyron HendersonMiddlesex2008Alfonso ThomasSomerset2008Andre AdamsNottinghamshire, Hampshire Adams moved to Hampshire in 2014, again as a Kolpak player2008Andrew HallNorthamptonshire2008Charl LangeveldtDerbyshire2008Corey CollymoreSussex, Middlesex 2008Dillon du PreezLeicestershiredu Preez is South African though he never played international cricket2008Dominic TeloDerbyshire2008Dwayne SmithSussexHis Kolpak status expired in 2010 though he continued playing for Sussex as an overseas player2008Friedel de WetHampshire2008Jermaine LawsonLeicestershire2008Johan van der WathNorthamptonshire2008Justin KempKent2008Nantie HaywardHampshire, DerbyshireHayward joined Derbyshire for the 2009 season2008Nicky BojeNorthamptonshire2008Shaun PollockDurham2008Wavell HindsDerbyshire2009André NelSurrey2010Neil McKenzieHampshire2011Johann MyburghHampshire, Somerset Myburgh played for Durham as an overseas player in 2012 and joined Somerset in 2013 as a Kolpak player2012Gareth RoderickGloucestershireIan Marshall 2013Ashwell PrinceLancashirePrince had earlier represented Lancashire from 2009 as an overseas player.2013Brendan NashKentNash joined as an overseas player in 2012 and got Kolpak status in 2013.2013Kyle JarvisLancashire2014Colin IngramGlamorgan2015Alviro PetersenLancashirePetersen was banned for 2 years by Cricket South Africa in December 2016 for attempting to cover up match fixing in the 2015–16 Ram Slam T20 Challenge. 2015Brendan TaylorNottinghamshire2015Fidel EdwardsHampshire2015Richard LeviNorthamptonshire 2016Ravi RampaulSurrey, DerbyshireRampaul moved to Derbyshire in 2018, again as a Kolpak player2016Hardus ViljoenDerbyshire/Kent2016Simon HarmerEssex2016Stiaan van ZylSussex2017Tino BestHampshire2017David WieseSussex2017Daryn SmitDerbyshire2017Grant ElliottWarwickshire2017Kyle AbbottHampshire2017Rilee RossouwHampshire2017Marchant de LangeGlamorgan2017Shivnarine ChanderpaulLancashire2018Heino KuhnKent2018Morné MorkelSurrey2018Blessing MuzarabaniNorthamptonshire2018Wayne ParnellWorcestershire2019Duanne OlivierYorkshire2019Miguel CumminsMiddlesex

References