Rudolph strikes deal to join Yorkshire

Jacques Rudolph is heading to Yorkshire with the aim to develop his game © AFP

Jacques Rudolph is removing himself from the international arena and joining Yorkshire for three years in a bid to rediscover himself, the left-handed batsman told Cricinfo on Wednesday.

Rudolph, who was set for a recall to the South African Test team when they play Pakistan in Cape Town from Friday, announced he had signed a three-year Kolpak deal with Yorkshire on Tuesday, thereby making himself ineligible for his country.

"I feel like I haven't been myself and I haven't played the way I wanted to for the last two or three years. I want to play with more freedom and flair, like I did at the start of my career with the Northerns Titans," Rudolph said.

The 25-year-old has also been messed around by the South African selectors, never being able to cement a place in the team or even a regular batting position.

"It's been very difficult for my game, knowing you are always one or two Tests away from being dropped, you put pressure on yourself. So it becomes a rollercoaster and you're always in and out of the side, or batting at number three and then number six."

South African coach Mickey Arthur certainly values Rudolph's abilities, but he is also in the process of building a Test side for the next couple of years.

"No one wants to lose a player of Jacques' class, but we are building for 2008 and there's no point involving Jacques now if he can't be in our plans for later. But it might be a win/win situation because I'm sure Jacques will get more depth to his batting while he's over there," Arthur said.

Rudolph has not played Test cricket since last August in Sri Lanka, but the South Africans were set to call on his services at the top of the order in Cape Town, due to the uncertainty over Herschelle Gibbs's appeal over his suspension for making racist remarks and the woeful recent form of AB de Villiers.

"Haroon [Lorgat, the convenor of selectors] told me they would give me a run of three or four Tests, but at this stage I feel I need a career move and I'm looking for some stability and security for my game and some guarantees," Rudolph said.

"I'll still be young, 28, when I come back and I'm sure I can be a great prospect for South Africa then," the scorer of five hundreds in his 35 Tests said.

One could tell Rudolph was a rare strokeplaying genius when he plundered a run-a-ball 150 against Australia in their final warm-up for the 2003 World Cup. Sadly, the follow-up successes have not really come as the burdens of always playing for his place have heaped upon his shoulders.

Yorkshire having been through a winter of upheaval. Firstly there was the drama surrounding Chris Adams's u-turn over his role as captain then the controversial departure of Anthony McGrath who, despite being offered the captaincy, decided to leave mid-contract. Along with the loss of Michael Lumb to Hampshire it has left Yorkshire very short of batting experience.

However, the signings of Rudolph and Younis Khan, whose absence at the World Cup will be covered by Matthew Elliott, will go some way towards compensating for those losses and should provide stability in the top order.