Spineless McLaren Picks The Pound
McLaren - questionable, pro-Kent, withdrawal.
The_Comentator: "McLaren - what a let down. A player refusing to play for his country? [Cricket South Africa] should not consider him in three years when his contract at Kent runs out. Bye for good and don't come back, Ryan."
Toothchipper: "McLaren - what an idiot! You fool, with a bit of luck you could have played against Oz at the MCG on Boxing Day with 80,000-plus people watching! Now you will be playing in the second division for Kent in front of empty stands in the cold and wet for the rest of your career!"
The_Comentator (again): "The Pound versus the Rand. 16-to-one McLaren stays in England. Money means more than loyalty these days. He should have insisted that he wanted to play for SA."
Tuesday: "McLaren's decision to turn his back on his country is another example of a Saffer putting money before patriotism. McLaren is unpatriotic."
Comment on Ryan McLaren's withdrawal from the Proteas squad to take on Kenya and Bangladesh is plentiful and scathing in the Cricket365 Your Say, and though my shared sentiment may not be as scornful, I do agree that the South African-bred Kent star has folded without a fight.
Indeed the decision was not his to make, instead that of the English county with whom he has signed a three-year deal, but surely there was cause for the 25-year-old recruit to be released to represent his country or at least to have challenged Kent's hasty, selfish choice.
In effect the Canterbury-based side refuse to free the Kolpak signing as representing the Proteas would lead to him losing his Kolpak status, meaning he would have to rejoin them as an international signing next season.
The England and Wales Cricket Board have a one-man limit on international signings in place on the county circuit yet no quota in place for Kolpak hopefuls, and Kent would hardly want to dispose of Pakistan fast bowler Yasir Arafat to make way for McLaren. Robert Key's recently relegated collective see no need to upset the apple cart. One international signing (Arafat) and one 'Kolpaked' player (McLaren) suits Key and cohorts just fine.
"We fully appreciate and understand Ryan's request to be released by Kent for the remainder of his contract to play for South Africa but we are not in a position to agree to his request for numerous reasons," wheezed Kent's chief executive officer, Paul Millman, recently. "The main reason being that Ryan is a key player and Kent has built the team around him. "This has become even more relevant because of our demotion to the second division of the County Championship."
Warwickshire were gracious in releasing Paul Harris when Proteas duty knocked at his door. Are Millman and cronies so self-obsessed that they can't equal the courtesy displayed by their contemporaries, or merely consider putting the wishes of the man before their own exploitations?
McLaren's spineless reaction to Kent's stand serves to further incense already-peeved South African fans.
"I am obviously disappointed that I have had to withdraw from the South African ODI squad," lamented McLaren. "However, I fully understand my contractual commitments to Kent and respect their decision."
Why, without dispute, stay loyal to a unit that has, by and large, snubbed one's international hopes for the next three seasons? Loopholes, negotiation and compromise are never out of the question in this money-fuelled day and age, and Saffer coach Mickey Arthur can profess until he is blue in the face that "Cricket South Africa did everything possible to help [McLaren] get out of his contract."
I'm not buying it and the shielded reality remains that the man in question, just as much as Kent, are to blame for the Proteas' foreseeable future without the talented McLaren.
Jonhenry Wilson