South African board offers contract to 13, drops seven

Gerald Majola: 'We will not enlarge the contracted group without good reason' © Getty Images

Martin van Jaarsveld, Lance Klusner and Paul Adams are among seven players to be left without a central contract after the United Cricket Board of South Africa (UCBSA) decided to cut down the number of contracted players to 13 from 20.

Gerald Majola, the CEO of the UCBSA, was quoted by the News24 website as saying decision was in line with the selector's wish to award contracts to those to played for the country regularly.

Albie Morkel, Robin Peterson, and Monde Zondeki are the other players to miss out. Majola said: "We do not want to be in a situation where we have to carry players who do not play for South Africa regularly. It is quite simple. We will not enlarge the contracted group without good reason. This is an elite group and this is how it should remain."

However, Tony Irish, chairperson of the South African Players' Association, said that the move was motivated by financial reasons. "It makes sense that players who regularly play for the country should be paid by the UCBSA. It does not help to pay players who do not play for South Africa on a regular basis. It is acceptable from our point of view that the UCBSA makes contracts more streamlined."

The new policy adopted by the board might increase the financial burden on the franchises, who will be forced to financially support more players. Neil McKenzie and Garnett Kruger, who represent the Lions, will now have to be paid by them. This could in turn force the franchises to offer fewer contracts.