Players switching country

[factual]

How come england seem to have many many players that have switched their citizenship from their home land to play for england but every other country it very rarely happens?

[varun]

Hmm.. cannot be just the quality of life, if that was the case there would be a lot more ppl playing for the Aussies as well. I'd say that it is a combination of weak domestic players and ease of immigration.

[punjabi_khota]

Look up Kolpak.

[punjabi_khota]

http://content-www.cricinfo.com/england/content/story/299952.html

[EnterTheVoid]

lets help them by deporting parthiv patel - awesome wicket keeper and future captain

[The Outsider]

I don't remember too many English players switching citienships to play - dual citizenships yes, but can you name a few who got rid of their original passport, adopted the English passport and played for England?

[Gambit]

A guy called Billy Midwinter played for Australia in his debut Ashes series, then for England and then for Australia. No wonder he died in an asylum.

[Tapioca]

A guy called Billy Midwinter played for Australia in his debut Ashes series' date=' then for England and then for Australia. [/quote'] He was one of the first truly professional cricketers. For several years, he would play in the English season, then catch a ship to play in the Australian summer, and get back to England for next season.

No wonder he died in an asylum.

His end was possibly the saddest of all cricketers. Quoting from 1971 Wisden :

The family bereavements that were to break his heart struck whilst they were living at the Victoria. Fist his ten month old daughter, Elsie, died of pneumonia on November 22, 1888; next, August 23, 1889, his wife Elizabeth, of apoplexy and, finally, on November 2, three year old Albert Ernest. He loved his family dearly and these sudden domestic tragedies were more than he could bear. In June 1890, whilst staying with his sister and brother-in-law, Mrs. H. Hicks, at Sandhurst, he became so violent that he was removed to the Bendigo Hospital and, on August 14, to the Kew Asylum in Melbourne. He became paralysed from the waist down. Happily one of his brief periods of consciousness on November 21 coincided with a visit from his old friend Harry Boyle, on his return from the Australian 1890 tour of England. He recognised him and spoke admiringly of W.G., Arthur Shrewsbury and of Woof. He was delighted to hear that his old County had twice beaten Nottinghamshire. He died at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, December 3, 1890, aged 39. The funeral took place on Friday, December 5, attended by a great many cricketers and sportsmen among whom was a Gloucestershire representative, W. O. Tonge, who had played with Midwinter in two County matches at Clifton College during August 1880.