Not for the first time, and quite possibly not for the last, the future of Daryll Cullinan is clouded in uncertainty.

Having decided to spend a season with Kent in the CricInfo County Championship during the South African winter, Cullinan was not offered an international contract with the United Cricket Board.

He had earlier indicated that he wished only to be considered as a Test match player, a role he filled with distinction during South Africa's 2001 tour of the Caribbean, but his commitments with Kent would have prevented him touring Zimbabwe with South Africa later this year.

A knee injury, however, has forced Cullinan's contract with Kent this season to be foreshortened. According to the official Kent website, Cullinan has indicated that he wishes to stay in England and has offered to "help and assist" the county.

Cullinan is quoted on the website as saying: "I am naturally very disappointed at this out-turn. It is the first time in my career that I have suffered an injury of this seriousness but I do feel that rest is the only solution. I look forward to helping the Club in any way that I can during the remainder of my stay in England."

As ever with Cullinan, though, nothing is entirely straightforward. He visited South Africa last week for treatment to the knee, but although he had discussions with Alan Kourie at Gauteng, he did not make contact with the United Cricket Board.

Kourie is confident that Cullinan will play for the Highveld Strikers at the Wanderers this summer, but it is not at all clear whether he will be seen in the colours of the national side.

Cullinan's form in the Caribbean confirmed his status as the pre-eminent South African batsman of his generation. It is almost impossible to believe that, granted his availability, South Africa would choose not have him anchoring the middle order. Yet this might well prove the case, given Cullinan's frequently misplaced sense of personal injustice and the UCB's ambivalent approach to discipline within the national team.

It is no secret that when the marijuana-smoking episode blew up in the West Indies, Cullinan was alleged to have been the man to let the cat out of the bag. This was strenuously denied, both by Cullinan and sections of the South African team management, but the grounds for suspicion had already been laid.

That this says a good deal more about the muddled sense of responsibility that prevails in the national team than it does about Cullinan should be self-evident, but it might make his recall to the Test side an awkward step to take.

There is also the matter of Cullinan's desire to extend his international career. After South Africa's venture into Zimbabwe, India visit South Africa, but the centrepiece of the South African summer comes with a tour to Australia over Christmas and the New Year.

Cullinan has endured two unhappy tours of Australia, once noting that his only accomplishment had been to make himself the laughing stock of two countries. He simply may have no wish to again subject himself to the harsh scrutiny of the Australian media.

At 34, though, Cullinan should still have much to offer South African cricket. It would be a tragedy if a combination of stubborness and poor communication caused a career to be snipped short before its time. If anyone sees Cullinan, tell him the UCB's number is (27) 11-880-2810. Tell him to give them a call.

© CricInfo