Francois du Plessis joined the South African player drain to England when he signed a Kolpak deal with Lancashire in 2008. He had toured with South Africa U-19s and already caught the eye in the domestic game before following the route to county cricket having played for Todmorden in the Lancashire League in 2007. He made a positive impression with his all-round skills - some of his fielding is electric, and people still talk about his catch in the Twenty20 Cup quarter-final against Middlesex in 2008 - but if the regulations for overseas players continue to be tightened he could have a difficult decision to make soon.