The 34-year-old South African pace bowler had returned home to mull over a contract offer from the county when he received a text from the club's chief executive Stewart Regan on Wednesday stating the offer had been withdrawn.

Yorkshire felt the delay was jeopardising their chances of signing an alternative, but Kruis, who served Yorkshire for four years and was awarded a county cap in 2006, last night revealed his hurt at the manner of his exit from Headingley Carnegie.

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"I had an offer from Yorkshire and I was still deciding whether to stay or not, then yesterday (Wednesday) I got a text from Stewart Regan saying they had withdrawn the offer they had made me because they were going to sign someone else.

"This is not really the way I wanted my time at Yorkshire to end.

"I said to them at the end of the season that I would give them an answer.

"Stewart gave me a week, but I told Martyn Moxon (director of professional cricket) I needed two and I was going to give them an answer at the end of the week.

"Stewart tried to call me yesterday but didn't get through and ended up leaving a text.

"I think it would have at least been appropriate to allow me to say yes or no.

"I have raised the matter with the PCA. I wasn't completely happy with the offer that was made to me. I was promised certain things last year when I signed for this year, which weren't included in the offer.

"I feel as though Stewart Regan has gone back on his word and I'm a little bit unhappy."

Regan responded last night by saying Kruis was dragging his heels over a decision and therefore hampering Yorkshire in their efforts to finalise the squad for 2009.

"We made Deon an offer in Scarborough on September 17 and a decision wasn't forthcoming," said Regan.

"Whether we were signing Deon Kruis or another player in the market place, we needed to do it before too much time had elapsed.

"We asked Deon over a week ago to make a decision within a week. When I asked him yesterday (by text) if he had made his mind up he was still undecided.

"On that basis I told him we were withdrawing the offer.

"I tried to phone Deon but couldn't get through. We needed to make progress and therefore I sent him a message.

"I said I would be happy to discuss the matter but he didn't call.

"We have also discussed the matter with the PCA and they fully understand the situation."

Kruis hopes the PCA will find in his favour and help him return to Yorkshire.

Otherwise the bowler, who was the county's player of the year in 2005 and twice Yorkshire's leading wicket-taker, will have to look for another club to see out the remaining years of his career.

Injuries have plagued him over the past two seasons, but he took his first five-wicket haul against Surrey this summer, made his first half-century for the club in the same match, and then produced a devastating spell of 4-3 in the final game of the Pro40 Legaue against Northamptonshire four weeks ago that virtually guaranteed Yorkshire's promotion to Division One.

"Hopefully the PCA will find that I can go back to Yorkshire, otherwise I'll have to find somewhere else to play," he added. "I've still got one or two more years of decent cricket left in me."

Regan added: "He's been a great servant for the club, and despite his injury problems over the last couple of seasons he has always given his best.

"But as a club we could not be kept hanging around."

Without Kruis and Darren Gough – who brought the curtain down on his glorious career last month – Yorkshire are shorn of valuable experience in the bowling department.

But Regan said the club would be announcing the signing of a new bowler 'probably before the end of the month'.