Exclusive: Yorkshire bank on youth to fill Rudolph void

The worst-kept secret in county cricket is finally out the bag after Yorkshire confirmed Rudolph will not be returning to Headingley next season.

The South African has decided to leave for family reasons – his wife, Elna, has found it difficult to settle in England – and is keen to resurrect an international career he abandoned after joining Yorkshire as a Kolpak player in 2007.

But instead of attempting to replace a man who scored 2,463 runs in all competitions last season, which helped the club to third place in the County Championship and to the semi-finals of the Clydesdale Bank 40 League, Yorkshire plan to replace Rudolph with a bowler – the former Yorkshire and England left-arm seamer Ryan Sidebottom.

Martyn Moxon, Yorkshire's director of professional cricket, admitted the strategy was "a risk" given Rudolph has been head and shoulders above any other batsman during his time at the club. But he said it was more important to add experience to Yorkshire's pace bowling department and he believes home-grown batsmen such as Joe Root and Gary Ballance – who have played seven first-class games between them – can help fill the void left by a man whose impact at Headingley was second only to Darren Lehmann of Yorkshire's overseas imports.

Moxon also said that should Yorkshire fail in their efforts to capture Sidebottom, they would attempt to sign an overseas fast bowler rather than an overseas batsman.

He added there was not sufficient money at the club to recruit a batsman and a bowler and said the cash saved from Rudolph's departure would be used to fund wage increases for other players.

"There's obviously a risk in not replacing Jacques, but there are two factors to consider," said Moxon. "First, there's the financial factor. Because the younger players have done so well this year, we've had to increase their salaries, so the saving made on Jacques is, in effect, going on improved deals for our own players. Second, we feel that a couple of our younger, home-grown batsmen need to be challenged.

"Joe Root and Gary Ballance are the obvious ones, and there's a danger of them becoming stale and stagnant if they play too much second team cricket.

"Clearly, we're not expecting those lads to come straight in and score the volume of runs Jacques scored, but we saw how well the likes of Adam Lyth responded this year to greater opportunities and we believe all our players have the ability to improve."

Nottinghamshire showed this year the Championship can be won without a star-studded batting line-up.

Chris Read's men were heavily reliant on seam bowlers such as Andre Adams to win them games.

"The problem we have is we can't guarantee having Tim Bresnan and Ajmal Shahzad available all summer," added Moxon. "We simply don't know how much we'll see of them due to England commitments.

"If we lose them, that leaves us short on seam bowling experience and our view is we're not quite as advanced with our young bowlers as we are with our young batters.

"It's a judgement call, but obviously you've got to take 20 wickets to win cricket matches."

Moxon said next summer would be difficult even if Rudolph was returning to the club.

"It was always going to be tough regardless of Jacques' availability," he added. "The expectation is higher now and the opposition will treat us differently. We're going to have to raise our game, there's no doubt about it, but I still think we'll be very competitive.

"The lads were a true team this year – that was the biggest factor in their success – and there's no reason why that should change."

Although Rudolph wants to play for South Africa, he cited only family reasons for his decision to leave.

"Over the last 18 months, Elna and I have found it increasingly difficult being apart from our family," he said. "My love for cricket is unquestionable; however, it will always come second to the needs of my family.

"We believed Elna could also have a successful career here in England as a doctor who specialises in HIV treatment. We have since found that pursuing a career back in Africa will be more valuable and rewarding for long-term purposes. With this in mind, I believe that if we settled in England, I would be denying her this opportunity.

"The combination of Elna's needs and our desire to be close to our family has led us to the decision that continuing in England is no longer an option."

Moxon said: "Jacques was an outstanding servant for Yorkshire on-and-off the field.

"He was a great favourite with players and supporters and a much-loved member of the team. He's an extremely nice guy – very unassuming and humble – and nothing was ever too much trouble.

"Who knows, he might return to the club at some point in the future."

Who could fill Jacques boots?

Joe Root

A 19-year-old opener from Sheffield, Root made his first-class debut last summer and also represented England Under-19s.

He is also a burgeoning off-spin bowler.

Root's graceful strokeplay has already drawn comparison with former England captain Michael Vaughan.

Gary Ballance

The Zimbabwe-born 20-year-old has made only a handful of first-team appearances for Yorkshire.

He is spending the winter back home in Zimbabwe with Mid West Rhinos, coached by former Yorkshire and Australia fast bowler Jason Gillespie, in an effort to improve his batting.