By JMB
January 23 2007

Jacques Rudolph has signed for Yorkshire for the next 3 seasons! In a move that illustrates the pulling power of Yorkshire County Cricket Club, Stewart Regan has performed a major coup. Rudolph will play as a Kolpak player and will line up alongside overseas signings Younus Khan and Jason Gillespie. South Africa batsman Jacques Rudolph has agreed a deal with national bosses to join Yorkshire without counting as an official overseas player. The 25-year-old left-hander has played 35 Tests and is still centrally contracted to Cricket South Africa.

Yorkshire will be getting a batsman hungry for runs to force his way back in to the South African team, although while with Yorkshire he will be ineligible for selection. The move is a major success for Yorkshire's chief executive Stewart Regan too. Regan has taken much critiscism this winter for the perceived turmoil at Headingley.

Regan told The Corridor: "We are absolutely thrilled to have signed Jacques. Obviously for him it's a massive decision to give up the right to play for your home country at the age of just 25 and we have been speaking to him for several weeks. Having now firmly made his mind up he cannot wait to start. I think he will add so much to the team and be a great mentor to the younger lads coming through. As a left-hander he will be a useful addition to the squad and fill the gap left by Michael Lumb more than adequately. To say I am chuffed is an understatement afer the events of the last few weeks!"

Gerald Majola, Cricket South Africa's CEO, said in a joint statement with Rudolph: "Jacques has been offered a contract with Yorkshire as a Kolpak player and is keen to go so that he can gain added experience by playing county cricket. CSA has had in-depth discussions with Jacques on this matter, and those included were national coach Mickey Arthur and national convenor of selectors Haroon Lorgat. Eventually all parties agreed with Jacques' view that the county experience would make him a better player at this stage of his career. CSA has nurtured Jacques' talent since he was a teenager, and we regard him as one of our national assets. However, he is only 25 and the general view is that with this added experience in county conditions he will become a more rounded player.

Rudolph added "I am very proud to be a Protea and to represent my county. This was not a decision to take lightly, and I discussed the matter fully with the management. We agreed this experience would be good for me."

Rudolph made 222 on his Test debut against Bangladesh in 2003 and has averages just over 36 with the bat. He was left out of the home series against India and has not featured in the opening two matches against Pakistan, with Hashim Amla and Ashwell Prince preferred in the middle order.

Rudolph signs with Yorkshire under the Kolpak regulations. This allow players from countries that have associate agreements with the European Union to enjoy the same rights as European players. Pakistani batsman Younis Khan and Australia's Jason Gillespie are the Tykes' two official overseas professionals. As this site said a few weeks ago - THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT THE FUTURE IS YORKSHIRE! Now it's brighter - we have Rudolph leading the way!