Hall quits international cricket

[manee]

As if there ever was any doubt, Andrew Hall has joined the ICL.

Andrew Hall joins rebel cricket league

Johannesburg, South Africa

Andrew Hall, the leading South African wicket-taker at the World Cup this year, has joined the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL).

Source: http://www.mg.co.za/articlepage.asp...ng_news__sport/&articleid=318141&referrer=RSS

 

[Highlander999]

Sorry to see him retire from Saffa. He deserved a more perminant place in the team, as he was underated

 

[Cricketman]

Sad.
How can you lose passion for playing for your country? Meh.
Whatever.
I thought he had turned into one of the best death "containers" in the biz.
Big hit by Yuvi :o
anyways, yeah..sad

 

[Vcassano]

Decent player, destroyed us in thr World Cup, but ultimately not a big loss.

 

[H0wZ4T!]

Andrew Hall joining the ICL? That was just a bit obvious in the end.

 

[irottev]

You find out who is dedicated to playing for their country and who is just money hungry don't you.

 

[angryangy]

You find out who is dedicated to playing for their country and who is just money hungry don't you.

It goes both ways. You look at Hall's ODI record and you have to agree it's not the record of a guy who gets dropped all the time. He should make pretty much any team on his bowling skills and his useful batting should enhance that. He is also a well seasoned Twenty20 player and if one reads between the lines, he was probably very dissatisfied with the reason given for missing the upcoming tournament in front of home crowds.

Yes, people should, ideally, be willing to go further to play for their country. However, in practice it's not your countrymen you have to please, it's the board. The national boards have a monopoly on cricket in their countries, so when the slightest hint of competition shows up, their methods are put to the test.

 

[Kev]

I heard rumours that Hall would retire way back before ICL was announced. He likes living in England (and so does his wife) and as its been said he hardly gets a decent chance to play for South Africa on a regular basis, dispite having a central contract. Take this season - He was called back from Kent to South Africa for a "Rest" before the Twenty20 world championships, but instead of resting him they send him on an utterly pointless South Africa A tour of Zimbabwe and has now been selected to play an India A tour. What can he possibly learn or prove to anyone playing these kind of low key games? So he didn't get his rest, he didn't get selected for T20 and he got recalled from playing for a club which he enjoys being at. I'm not surprised in the least that he's chucked it in.

 

[BigHef]

You find out who is dedicated to playing for their country and who is just money hungry don't you.

Bit harsh that I reckon - these blokes have got to make a living for themselves just like any of us. Why not go and get paid big bucks and know you're going to get a game rather than hanging on each week hoping you get picked.

It's not like he hasn't given it a fair crack for South Africa.

 

[Vcassano]

Also remember the employment laws are incredibly complex in South Africa and in missing out on selection for the World Cup he is missing out on some serious moolah.

 

[irottev]

Fair calls. Probably was a bit harsh.

I hate this whole ICL thing. It's destined to ruin world cricket.

 

[harishankar]

Fair calls. Probably was a bit harsh.

I hate this whole ICL thing. It's destined to ruin world cricket.

No. There have already been many benefits without even a ball being bowled of the new league not the least of which is that the domestic players (at least in India) are now going to get paid more thanks to the ICL. I expect the other boards to follow suit in order to thwart the threat of changing ranks.

If anything ICL will improve the lot of domestic cricketers the world around and maybe they would get a fair deal rather than being treated like crap by their official boards. Maybe the boards will wake up and appoint people who truly love the game to be at the top rather than greedy politicians and businessmen out to make money.

Anyway back on topic, Andrew Hall has probably been unlucky in his career in that he played most of his cricket under the shadow of great players and was never really recognized as a mainstream player in South Africa. His bowling is more effective than most batsmen assume and he has the knack of getting crucial wickets for his side. His batting has been a let-down over the years though.

 

[ZoraxDoom]

Upul Chandana has called it a day too! For ICL as well is seems:
http://www.cricinfo.com/srilanka/content/story/309417.html
Attapattu and Arnold are being linked to this too...

 

[iloveireland]

I don't like ICL. I don't mean to be greedy but I want all the good Aussie talent to stay in Australia.