English county side Hampshire had to bow before widespread protests and withdraw New Zealand all-rounder Scott Kuggeleijn from their squad.

The county had signed the 34-year-old, who faced a rape charge in 2015 and was acquitted in 2017 after a re-trial due to a hung jury, on Tuesday. In a statement, the club said it was pulling Kuggeleijn out after listening to “feedback from our staff and supporters.” They said the New Zealander “will not represent the club.”

“We value the passion of our fanbase and thank everyone who took the time to share their views. Our focus now turns to supporting the team through the final four County Championship fixtures of the season,” the statement released just before the start of the game against Warwickshire.

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The county had included Kuggeleijn – who has represented New Zealand in three Tests, two ODIs and 18 T20 Internationals – without announcing his signing publicly.

He continued to represent his country between 2017 and 2024. In fact, all his three Test caps came within a 13-month period from February 2023 and March 2024, the last one being in a Test against Australia in Christchurch.

Despite his acquittal, Kuggeleijn’s selection for New Zealand and domestic teams has often led to protests. In 2019, spectators at Auckland’s Eden Park held up ‘#MeToo’ posters objecting to his inclusion.

Hampshire fans called his inclusion “a disgrace”, “shameful” and “a new low for the club”.

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Hampshire are currently at the bottom of Division One of the County Championship and battling to preserve their top-flight status.

Kuggeleijn has also played in the Indian Premier League, turning out in two games for Chennai Super Kings in the 2019 edition when he was recruited as an injury replacement for South African pacer Lungi Ngidi. In 2021, he was signed up by Royal Challengers Bangalore as a replacement for Aussie pacer Kane Richardson but didn’t play any match for them. During that edition played during the Covid pandemic, Kuggeleijn was already paart of the bio-bubble as a reserve player for Mumbai Indians.