The 31-year-old South Africa pacer Dane Paterson might just be the last athlete to opt for a Kolpak deal. The promising speedster has played a dozen of white-ball games to go with a couple of Test matches. If reports are to be believed, Paterson is in talks with English County Cricket Club, Nottinghamshire.
“We’ve been informed he’s doing so,” Paterson’s Cobras coach, Ashwell Prince, addressed an online press conference on Monday, without mentioning the name of the team when quizzed whether Paterson had agreed on taking the Kolpak route. “But he needs final boxes to be ticked by the ECB [England Cricket Board]. We’ve been told it’s going to be done.”
Dane Paterson faces clouds of uncertainty amid career move
The Kolpak deal will eventually become invalid once the UK leaves the European Union on December 31. The pacer could still play as an overseas professional. However, there aren’t any clear talks of whether a foreign player can be accommodated. Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the deal which was supposed to take place on March 23, has now been postponed.
Notts had approached Paterson in February. He learned that Kolpak deals would see a gradual exit at the end of December 2020. The pacer changed his mind and was set to serve South Africa. However, Paterson took a u-turn and showed his interest in the deal, which led to his ouster from Proteas’ winter training camp.
“It surprises me that he made that decision, given all the information he had,” the acting Director of Cricket Graeme Smith said.
Paterson made his Test debut against England in January. He was later axed from the white-ball leg of the series. Ashwell Prince, former southpaw and Cape Town Cobra’s coach, feels that development might have changed his mind.
“It is disappointing, but the player is also asking themselves if I just played for the Proteas a few weeks ago, why am I not in any one-day squads, any T20 squads?” Prince stated.