YORKSHIRE County Cricket Club could be on the verge of signing 30-year-old South African seam bowler Deon Kruis, who plays for Eagles, the Free State side.

Director of cricket David Byas confirmed today that Yorkshire were interested in making their second signing of the winter, but declined to name the man he is targeting.

The word in South African cricket circles is that Kruis, who has played Lancashire League cricket with Blackpool, will be coming to Yorkshire on a one-year contract.

If Kruis does arrive at Headingley, he will come as a Kolpak player which will cause eyebrows to be raised among Yorkshire fans who were at last year's annual meeting when chairman Robin Smith said the club were opposed to these players in the county game because they held back younger players.

Smith said that nothing could be done to stop counties taking them on if they so wished because it was European law but he did not think Yorkshire would be going down that road.

Yorkshire, however, then went on to have a disastrous season, and with Phil Jaques and Ian Harvey already signed as their two overseas players for 2005, Byas may have had to review the club's stance.

Under Kolpak, a sportsman can play in a European country if his own country has a Trade Agreement with the EC.

Kruis has so far taken 24 wickets for Eagles in the South African domestic season. He has also played for Griqualand West and during his career he has taken 252 first class wickets at just over 29 runs apiece and 99 one-day wickets at just under 29.

He recently received a two-match ban - one of them suspended until the end of the season - and was fined 1,000 rand by the South African Cricket Board for an incident against Boland in December when he was found to have contravened a rule covering verbal abuse and intimidation. He was also instructed to undergo a life skills course.

Updated: 10:04 Friday, March 04, 2005