JACQUES Rudolph’s future as a Yorkshire player should become clearer by the end of the month after he revealed a planned meeting with the ECB to discuss changes surrounding the Kolpak ruling.

The prolific batsman, who hit just 14 in the county’s damaging Friends Provident Trophy rain-affected defeat against Surrey at Headingley yesterday, is just one of many Kolpakkers in limbo.

The ECB are tightening the noose on foreign imports who are qualifying to play county cricket as locals, while work permits will become harder to obtain.

Rudolph, 28 yesterday, recently hinted he is not confident of being able to fulfil the remaining two years of his current White Rose contract beyond 2009.

But comments from Yorkshire chief executive Stewart Regan indicated the concerns are that Rudolph will not be able to extend his contract beyond 2011 because he may not get a work permit.

“I’m having a meeting at some point with people from the ECB to discuss my future.

I think I’ll know one way or the other by the end of the month,” said Rudolph.

Regan said he will accompany Rudolph at the meeting to “talk about the changing legislation around work permits”.

“Now a player has to have had international experience within the last five years. The longer Jacques plays for Yorkshire as a Kolpak, the harder it is going to be to satisfy that criteria.

“The clock is ticking because I think he played his last international in 2006.

“By 2011 he will have hit his deadline. We have got to make sure he is not without the ability to get a work permit.”

Yorkshire’s director of professional cricket Martyn Moxon was involved in a heated exchange with an angry fan yesterday as the Tykes slumped from 63-1 to 83-7 in pursuit of 185 against Surrey.

The Tykes had Surrey by the throat at 82-5 in the first innings, but Matt Spriegel’s unbeaten 56 got the visitors up to 184-7 from their 47 overs. Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, batting at three, smeared 49 from 56 balls before Grant Elliott took four wickets and Chris Schofield three.

Moxon was berated by the fan while on the viewing balcony at the Rugby Stand End of the ground, but chased after him to make a few points of his own during a rain break.

Yorkshire lost by 63 runs on the Duckworth Lewis method.

Scoreboard

Yorkshire v Surrey At Headingley Carnegie

Surrey

S A Newman c Guy b Pyrah ..................20

M J Brown b Naved-ul-Hasan ...............16

M R Ramprakash c Guy b Shahzad ...... 5

U Afzaal c Guy b Pyrah .......................... 8

M N Spriegel not out .............................56

G D Elliott st Guy b A U Rashid ............. 6

G C Wilson run out ...............................34

C P Schofield b Shahzad ......................22

Extras (b3 lb2 w10 nb2 pens 0) ..17

Total 7 wkts Innings Complete (47 overs) .....................................184

Fall: 1-39 2-44 3-47 4-59 5-82 6-149 7-184 Bowling: Kruis 7-0-34-0. Naved-ul-Hasan 10- 0-43-1. Pyrah 10-1-37-2. Shahzad 9-1-29-2.

A U Rashid 6-1-24-1. McGrath 5-0-12-0.

Yorkshire

A W Gale lbw b Dernbach ..................... 4

J A Rudolph st Wilson b Schofield ........14

Naved ul-Hasan c Spriegel b Schofield 49

M P Vaughan c Wilson b Elliott .............10

A McGrath lbw b Schofield .................... 1 J J Sayers c Ramprakash b Dernbach ..18

A U Rashid c Ramprakash b Elliott ....... 0

S M Guy c Wilson b Elliott ..................... 0

A Shahzad b Elliott ............................... 0

R M Pyrah b Dernbach ......................... 5

G J Kruis not out ..........................0

Extras (lb2 w1 pens 0)................. 3

Total (30.2 overs) ...................104

Fall: 1-4 2-63 3-78 4-79 5-82 6-83 7-83 8-91 9-104

Bowling: Dernbach 4.2-0-23-3. Collins 5-1- 24-0. Nel 7-2-25-0. Schofield 9-1-16-3. Elliott 5-1-14-4.

Surrey beat Yorkshire by 63 runs (D/L Method).