I'd love to play Test cricket for England, says Simon Harmer

South African cricket and the Kolpak controversy has gone hand-in-hand over the course of the last five years, with several players - including the likes of Rilee Rossouw, Kyle Abbott, Dane Vilas, Heino Kuhn, David Wiese and more recently, Duanne Olivier -  opting to instead ply their trade in England for several reasons. While "greed" and "money" have been the words thrown on those players as the reason for taking a Kolpak deal, a few have shed light on the matter bringing to the fore more important matters, such as the lack of job security and the naivety of the selectors.

"It wasn’t an optimistic outlook in my opinion and if I was going to play cricket for as long as I could, I had to consider playing as a Kolpak in the UK. I had to do well and it was a gamble, but the security lay here," he added.

"I don’t have an issue with transformation and it’s part of South African sport,’ says Harmer. ‘It’s where we are as a nation and it needs to happen, but as far as I was aware there needed to be five players of colour in the 11, so it did play a part in my situation.

"But if I’d taken 40 wickets in my five Tests, I would have taken that out of the equation. Ultimately it just means you need to be better to get an opportunity or keep your place," he said.

"I’d love to play for England. I think I’ve shown I have the potential, ability and work ethic to play international cricket again. I’ve certainly proved it to myself because you do wonder if you are good enough. I feel I am now, but how can I proclaim to be the best off-spinner in the world when I’m not competing on the international stage? Perhaps one day in the future that could change.

"There are quite a lot of hoops I’d need to jump through. The ECB would have to deal with the backlash, repercussions and consequences of selecting somebody who has played five Tests for South Africa. But I feel it would be a way of repaying the faith English cricket has shown in me by allowing me to play here. The rules have already been changed to benefit Jofra and allow him to fit into England’s World Cup plans, so if they did want me to get involved they would need to do that again and bend the rules accordingly," he signed off.