Kolpak can help England - Rudolph

Jacques Rudolph believes a limited number of Kolpak players could help England

Former South Africa batsman Jacques Rudolph believes the Kolpak ruling can still help England-qualified players – provided counties implement it sensibly.

Rudolph, a former Test batsman who is among the most high-profile Kolpak players in the country, was on form for Yorkshire in yesterday’s LV County Championship Roses clash.

He hit a counter-attacking 66 at Headingley Carnegie on a day when ball got the better of bat for long periods as the hosts posted 306 for seven.

But Rudolph admits that too many foreign players in the championship could be a negative for the national team.

“It’s possibly not good if you... I don’t want to say prostitute the the situation, but there is a fine line in terms of how many (Kolpak) players you use,” he said.

“It is for the ECB to find that line. I know what people in South Africa say, that it is all about the rand, but there are other issues in South Africa that you have to deal with. That makes England a very attractive place to come and play.

“From that point of view they have to make a decision to the extent that British-qualified players can still benefit from the situation.”

Although Rudolph’s was the top knock in the Yorkshire total, there were key innings from Gerard Brophy (59), Anthony McGrath (45) and Adil Rashid (43) – all of whom are eligible for England duty.

And Rudolph believes the Yorkshire model is a sustainable one.

He added: “I think it is their policy that they won’t try and sign more than two, whereas others have signed quite a few.

“I can’t see a situation where Yorkshire would try and sign Kolpaks left, right and centre, they would probably try and sign English players from other counties before doing that.”

Fast bowler Sajid Mahmood was the form man in the field for Lancashire, taking 4-61.

His contribution justified captain Luke Sutton’s decision to bowl first and he is now hoping to take control this morning.

Mahmood said: “I’ve done well here before and I was confident I would do well again. Coming down the hill means you can relax and I had some good rhythm.

“There were some patches when the batsmen got on top of us but that happens in cricket. Hopefully we can get them cheaply today, get a big score and then have another bowl.

“A win would be a big lift for us.”