Middlesex captain Leus du Plooy will miss the remainder of the English domestic cricket season because he declared his ambition to represent South Africa.
The 31-year-old batsman joined Derbyshire in 2019 on a special deal which allows certain foreign players in domestic English county cricket to be registered as locals rather than as overseas players.
Du Plooy had been registered as a local player since qualifying on residency grounds and he moved to Middlesex two years ago.
But having recently stated his desire to play for South Africa, he would need to be reclassified as an overseas player to continue representing Middlesex.
The club, however, were unaware that Du Plooy's declaration automatically made him ineligible to continue playing as a local.
And they did not realise their mistake until after Sunday's deadline to register overseas players had passed.
"The deadline for the registration of overseas players for the 2026 season was Sunday, 6 September, meaning that it is now not possible for the club to register Leus and select him for the remainder of the season," Middlesex said in a statement.
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Du Plooy will miss the crucial end of the season this month as Middlesex prepare for the One-Day Cup final against Leicestershire next week and bid for promotion from the Second Division.