The England and Wales Cricket Board has rejected applications of five players, including Andrew Hall of South Africa, for playing in county cricket next season due to their links with the Indian Cricket League.Wavell Hinds, Johannes van der Wath, Hamish Marshall and Justin Kemp are the other four players who would not be able to play in English counties in 2008. The ECB ruling has not only affected the players but even the counties have been hit hard.Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire are among those hit hardest as the former will miss the services of South African all-rounders Hall and Van der Wath while the latter will have to let go off Hinds. “We are obviously very disappointed that Wavell will be unable to join us this season,” Derbyshire chief executive Tom Sears was quoted as saying by BBC Sport.“While we support the ECB’s stance on unsanctioned events we can fully understand why Wavell has accepted the Indian Cricket League offer. We have been actively looking at options for a while now in anticipation of this ruling and have the finances in place to attract the best players looking to play county cricket.” Kemp was one of Kent’s winter signings while Marshall had been due to play for Gloucestershire.The ICL, in which eight teams play each other in a Twenty20 format, has been rivalled by an officially backed event called the Indian Premier League (IPL). But players involved in the IPL, the officially recognised Twenty20 competition, will not suffer the same sanctions.
