Warwickshire have released Vaughn van Jaarsveld, five months after he signed a two-year deal and pledged his allegiance to England.
His relationship with Warwickshire became increasingly difficult when, earlier this month, it was reported that van Jaarsveld decided to return to South Africa and his club, Gauteng. According to the county, not only did he breach his contract but he also failed to speak to his superiors directly and Warwickshire's directors were left to discuss the situation with their opposite numbers at Gauteng.
"We are disappointed by the way Vaughn has conducted himself but once he returned to South Africa for the winter he clearly had a change of heart over his long term plans," Colin Povey, Warwickshire's chief executive said.
"He will be missing out on a fantastic opportunity here with Warwickshire but we only want players who are fully committed to the [club's] cause. Having agreed the appropriate compensation with Vaughn and Gauteng Cricket we will now move on."
Van Jaarsveld, one of South Africa's brightest batting hopes, denied he was using English cricket to further his career when he signed with Warwickshire in June. "I'm here to qualify as an Englishman," he said. "I'm going to be spending at least 210 days a year here and the aim is to play for England. I just want to play cricket at the highest level possible and there are more opportunities here."
This development is the latest to fuel the argument that there are too many Kolpak players in county cricket.