15 Facts about Johan Botha

Johan Botha is a prominent name in the league of spinners who are tagged as limited overs specialists. The benefit that Botha yields to the team is his lower order batting that can be very handy at times. He has performed really well in the limited opportunities that he has got for South Africa and for the franchise teams that he has played for.

Here are facts about Johan Botha:

1. Early life:

Johan Botha was born on 2 May 1982 in Johannesburg.

2. Nicknames

He is fondly called as Botes and Stone by his team-mates.

3. Early career – Mickey Arthur’s influence

He started his career as a medium pacer for the Eastern Cape Warriors, who clocked more than 125 kph on a consistent basis. It was the former South African coach Mickey Arthur, who spotted his potential and asked him to switch as a spinner.

4. Learning the art of Off-spin bowling

Botha remodelled his action and began studying the art of the off spinner and doosra in hopes of emulating the likes of Muttiah Muralitharan and Harbhajan Singh.

5. Captaining the U19 team

Johan Botha has led South African U19 team in 2 matches in the year 2001 but couldn’t win. He lost one as the captain and the other ended in a no result.

6. ODI debut

He was able to impress the coach Mickey Arthur and the then skipper, Graeme Smith. Botha found a place in the squad to tour India for a five-match ODI series in 2005 after Nicky Boje pulled out over security concerns in regard to charges of match-fixing. His first ODI wicket was Irfan Pathan.

7. Controversial Test debut

He made his Test debut against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground in January 2006 and claimed batsman Mike Hussey as his first Test wicket. However, he was reported for throwing the ball at the conclusion of the match.

8. Banned by the ICC
His action was cited on his Test debut in January 2006, and following testing at the University of Western Australia, he was banned by the ICC. The analysis was done by bowling expert Bruce Elliott.  Prof. Bruce Elliott is the member of the ICC Panel of Human Movement Specialists, at the School of Sport Science, Exercise and Health, University of Western Australia, Perth.

9. Making a comeback

Botha remodelled his action again and in November 2006, his action was cleared by the ICC. He made his comeback in the Afro-Asia cup in 2007. He returned to the national side during South Africa’s tour to Pakistan in 2007-08.

10. Banning the doosra

In 2009, he was again reported for suspected illegal action. The match officials cited concern over two components of Botha’s repertoire, his quicker ball and his doosra, in the match against Australia at Port Elizabeth. ICC announced that Botha’s doosra ball had been deemed ‘illegal’ by an independent test and that he would not be allowed to bowl the delivery in international cricket.

11. Captaining the national team

In the absence of Graeme Smith, Johan Botha was named the skipper of the national side for the ODI series against Australia. He successfully led the team to a series win. Owing to this, he was named as the permanent skipper of the side after Smith retired in 2011. He had earlier taken over the reigns as the T20 skipper in 2010 when Graeme Smith announced that he was to surrender the captaincy in T20 Internationals but continue playing in the format.

12. Impressive captaincy record

In the 10 ODIs that he led the team in, the team won 8 out of them and lost just 2. He also captained the T20 side in 11 matches, to win 8 and lose just 3.

13. IPL Career

Johan Botha had played for 2 franchises in the IPL, Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Daredevils. In IPL 2015, Chris Lynn (who was playing for Kolkata Knight Riders) got injured, and Johan Botha was signed in as a replacement for him.

14. Masters Champions League

Johan Botha played for the Leo Lions in the inaugural edition of the Masters Champions League. He was one of the key players for the Leo Lions, who ended up as the runner-ups of the season. He played a vital knock of 70 against the Sagittarius Strikers in the league stages. With 163 runs in 6 innings at an average over 40, Botha provided the much-needed calmness for the Leo Lions. He also scalped 7 wickets. He had an impressive economy of 5.70 in the tournament.

15. Major teams – Prolific T20 player:

Johan Botha is a popular name among the T20 teams around the world. He is one of the most experienced T20 players with 184 matches to his name. He has played for various teams so far in his career. The teams that he has represented are: South Africa, Adelaide Strikers, Africa XI, Border, Delhi Daredevils, Eastern Province, Kolkata Knight Riders, Northamptonshire, Rajasthan Royals, South Australia, Sydney Sixers, Trinidad & Tobago Red Steel, Chevrolet Warriors.