Marchant de Lange signs three-year deal with Glamorgan

South African quick Marchant de Lange has signed a three-year deal with English county side named Glamorgan. The pacer was able to get himself a UK visa, and that was only because his wife holds a British passport.

The 26-year-old was not signed under the Kolpak because of few international games to his name. He has been signed as a non-foreign player, which means he cannot play for South Africa again until his Glamorgan contract terminates or he has to re-sign as a foreign player.

Although the quick can represent Glamorgan in all tournaments, playing on a UK visa will mean he cannot play even domestic cricket in his own backyard. But if he does so, Glamorgan will have to consider him as an overseas player.

“Marchant is a match winner. He has pace, aggression and he’s the right age and at the right stage of his career to make an impact for us,” Robert Croft, the Glamorgan head coach, said.

He further added “When you are looking at winning matches in four day cricket, twenty wickets is the challenge and Marchant is a wicket-taker, but his performances in one-day cricket have also been impressive and he will be a great addition to our squad.

De Lange made his international debut against Sri Lanka in a Test match in 2011 and has played a total of 2 Tests, 6 T20Is and 4 One-Day Internationals. Playing for the Knights, he finished the 2016-17 Sunfoil series – South Africa’s ODI tournament- as the second highest wicket-taker for his team with 34 wickets from eight games.

Lange, although not a Kolpak, joins a big list of South African internationals who shifted their careers to England in the off-season: Rilee Rossouw, Kayle Abbott,  Hardus Viljoen Simon Harmer and others. The off-season helps the players maintain their confidence and momentum by participating in other domestic tournaments.