ECB Extends Rules For Overseas Players
Overseas-born players hoping to represent England now face an extended qualification period of seven years, an increase on the existing four, after the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced the new regulation on Monday.
The new regulation is to apply to all male cricketers who begin residence in England after their 18th birthday.
For those living in England before they are 18, the period of qualification will be four years.
According to an ECB statement, the new qualification regulations will be deemed to have been effective as of last week.
The English have come under pressure in the past few years for fielding several players who were born overseas but qualified for their adopted nation under the four year-rule.
South Africa-born batsman Kevin Pietersen, whose mother is English, played five seasons for county side Nottinghamshire before making his England international debut in 2004.
The amendment cannot be applied retrospectively and allows for ECB discretion to reduce the residence period to four years for prospective players who either come from a country which is a non-International Cricket Council full member or who arrived in England before 25th April, 2012.
