Paul Nixon

I’m all for Kolpaks, they’re improving our game.

Simon Harmer, Stiaan van Zyl and Hardus Viljoen have all played for South Africa in the past 12 months but given up on their international careers for the time being by signing Kolpak deals for English counties.

The Kolpak ruling has had a lot of criticism ever since it came in but we can never stop Kolpaks. It’s European trade and we can never stop employing people from overseas, so let’s not get caught up in stopping the whole thing. The ruling actually benefits the game, so I don’t want to see it stopped.

Counties get financial penalties for having Kolpak players so bringing in these cricketers is not all win-win. You are encouraged to limit the number of Kolpak players in your team, but sometimes it’s just a needs-must.

Viljoen’s first wicket in Test cricket was that of Alastair Cook, so he obviously has talent, but it’s not a case of him turning his back on his country.

South African cricket has to get its structure right. It needs a competitive first-class system and the right balance between all formats. It needs to be made attractive to players and supporters. Obviously, there is the quota issue, too, which has driven people out, so that still needs sorting as well.