What makes a player foreign?

[stickwicky]

As the title says really?

SW.

[Imager36]

Errr, for the purposes of cricket in England...

Being born abroad in a non-EU country, but not having a British passport or being from the West Indies or South Africa and not being Kolpak qualified...

[Scritty]

As the title says really?

SW.

As imager said, it's not having a UK passport or eligability for a UK passport.

For all those that knock the import of players (and I'm not sure about it) it would be challengable in court for for someone with a UK passport to be denied the right to play (which is after all "work" to the player") for having a second nationality.
Restraint of trade.
Restrictive practice
Unworkable contract
or possibly even just the plain sledghammer accusation of racism.

In the long run preventing people with UK passports from working over here (and that's what it is in law - a job - work) would probably prove illegal.

Any company or organization that positioned itself or had internal rules trhat prevented the progression of a players (workers) career based on the country of his birth or upbringing would be open to prosecution for any or all of the above.

So the ECCB making a rule saying "All players that play for England must have been born in the UK, had a UK passport and have spent at least 50% of their lives in the UK" could be challenged in court, and would probably ultimately be found culpable.

I doubt it would be a quick case, it might be fought and claimed and counter claimed for years, but ultimately the concences of law that operates in every other field of employment would be brought to bear in sport as well.

How could it be any different?

So when people moan about Pietersen, Trott, Keiswetter and Lumb they really should understand that in an egalitarian society the authorities have very little choice.

If one of these guys is proveably better than someone else, and is NOT picked, then the govorning body is open to accusations and possible prosecution for restraint of trade etc.

We live in a muticultural society. The UK has the third most diverse population of anywhere in the world (Hong Kong is first ??!).
It's not always the easiest route, and it's hard to balance different cultural rules and moires without offending someone somehwere. so for all the hard work we put in to it, we'll taker the smooth with the rough.

If talented sportspeople want to represent the UK, and they alegally entitled to do so..then that's fine by me. It's not like Manchester United is full of Mancunians, or Arsenal isn't fully teamed by French players is it? I can't even pronounce half the Chelsea side.

Scritty

[Sureshot]

In the long run preventing people with UK passports from working over here (and that's what it is in law - a job - work) would probably prove illegal.

Restriction of Trade, illegal under EU law, as Maros Kolpak found out.

Kolpak legislation is a lot tougher this year, as Northants have found out with Wessels and, I think, Van der Wath.

[Imager36]

And as Sussex have found with Dwayne Smith...

[Scritty]

And as Sussex have found with Dwayne Smith...

True, but if it were challenged in court. It may well prove that the ECCB rulings on these guys would need to be overturned.

The counties are playing abit of "Hear no evil speak no evil" with the rulings at the moment. But if challenged in law, I think the players would win.

Scritty

[Tom Guntrip]

They resigned the Dwayne Train for the T20 though

[Imager36]

Yeah... or some of it... he might be a let down after we have Dilshan for the first bit

EDIT - Take out Dilshan, add McCullum

[Sureshot]

And as Sussex have found with Dwayne Smith...

Indeed, however we have him for the T20 which means I can still see/hear people screaming as he hits at six at Steve Coogan's house