'My international career is over'
Johan van der Wath talks to Nagraj Gollapudi about the ICL, and why he has decided to give up on top-level cricket
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My motivation was to try something new. It's a new challenge. I was going to be finished with South African cricket in any case, so I wanted to play less cricket. I have a three-year contract with the English county Northants, and I thought this (ICL) is just one month during my five-month off season, so I took up the offer. It's a new place and new feature in my career.
I had obviously heard about ICL and I had a good think about it. Before this, I was going to rest in South Africa apart from playing on the county circuit in England and maybe playing some one-day cricket for my provincial side. But when this offer came over, I gave it a good thought before accepting it. It fit nicely with my agenda.
I've played first-class cricket for ten years, but I felt like moving on and doing something else. I played for South Africa, but not as much as I wanted to. I felt I didn't get as many opportunities as I deserved. So I thought, at this stage of life, moving forward, thinking about what to do after cricket was good enough.
This is a full stop to my international career - even if it wasn't for the ICL, I wouldn't be available for South Africa.
It hurts when you see the guys on the field. You know you could've been there. But I've got a lot of good things coming in my future, so I am positive.
Eagles had no objection. My coach and my CEO were happy for me to leave for a month. The public back home back me a lot, so does the media, but it's only Cricket South Africa who are not happy at this stage. But there may be changes in the future. Hopefully, when we get back, all the five South Africans [in the ICL - Lance Klusener, Andrew Hall, Nicky Boje, Dale Benkenstein, Nantie Hayward] can still play. We've got a lot to offer.
Gerlad Majola had said that, but I'm not sure on what basis. I've done nothing to be a rebel.
When I went to England last year to play county cricket, it was playing at the back of my mind that I needed to focus more on my future. Then I got picked for the World Twenty20 and I decided to give my best, but I was clear even then that I would quit playing for South Africa.
It's up to the individual. It was easier for me because I had played for South Africa, I'd sort of reached that milestone. It's difficult for someone who hasn't played for South Africa. Also, I'm 29. If I was 24 or 25 I wouldn't have picked up the ICL offer; I would've stuck aroud for another two or three years.
It works a lot different for the Aussies. They don't throw in inexperienced guys. Guys like Michael Hussey and Clark have played a lot of domestic cricket before they entered the international arena. In South Africa when you are 29 or 30, the attitude is: "They've only got one or two years, so it's not the best decision to support them." If the attitude was the same as the Australians, it might've been different.
The quota system does hurt, even if it has nothing to do my decision. The system loses a lot of guys because of that. Having said that, there are a lot of good quota guys coming through - guys like Herschelle [Gibbs] and Ashwell [Prince] are fine examples.
I don't know the exact details of what he has to say. Professional sport - for example, in soccer, players are free to move around - is played for a living. Personally, I wouldn't play for any other country. I'll play for a club or franchise in any country, but I will not represent anyone apart from South Africa.
It's purely a business decision. I have got a cattle-farm business and I have also have some properties, so you need time to look after that. We do play cricket for money, but I also needed time for myself.
Nagraj Gollapudi is an assistant editor at Cricinfo