Cricket Australia changes eligibility rule to attract 'overseas' players

Football has the Bosman Rule and now cricket has the Robson rule Cricket Australia has changed their definition of Overseas Player to allow players with dual passports, but playing first-class cricket in another country, to play Australian domestic cricket as well. The move is intended to deepen the pool of talent in Australia’s domestic competitions by allowing more players to participate. The change was made with an eye on Sydney-born opening batsman, Sam Robson, who is currently the leading run-scorer in County Championship, where he plays for Middlesex as a local player because his mother was born in Nottingham. [caption id=“attachment_1038751” align=“aligncenter” width=“380”] Sam Robson. Getty Images[/caption] The 24-year-old Robson, who has scored 993 runs at an average of more than 62 this season, has been unable to represent New South Wales as an overseas player because he was born in Australia. Robson is one of a number number of Australian-qualified cricketers playing in England who are doing so using their English passports. To remain a local player in England, Robson would have had to play as an overseas player in Australia. But the old definition did not permit a player with dual passports to play as an overseas player in Australia. “Changes approved today will ensure state associations and BBL teams will be able recruit Australian players without them having to give up their eligibility to play overseas as a local player,” Cricket Australia said in a statement. “It will remove the burden on these players to choose which domestic competition to play in.” (With inputs from Reuters)