Johan Botha

Johan Botha has seen more than his fair share of ups and downs in a career that has seen him shift base to Australia. He has captained the South African limited overs side but hardly figured in the Test side; he has seen his spinning stock rise and then had his action questioned. And probably most surprising of all, he started off as a medium pacer who could bowl 120 kmph, but switched to spin after the-then South African coach Mickey Arthur suggested the change.

A competitive cricketer, Botha has come a long way towards being an integral part of the South African team, at least in limited overs matches. He did not have the best of starts to his career, being called for chucking on his Test debut in 2006 versus Australia. After being tested, he was subsequently banned by the ICC. However, he remodeled his action, and came back strongly in 2007-08 versus Pakistan. Since then, he has continued to deliver consistently for South Africa

His crowning glory came in Australia during the summer of 2008-09. After the Test series victory, with captain Graeme Smith out with a broken finger, the reins were handed over to Botha for the ODIs and T-20s, in a move that was surprising to say the least. What followed was another slice of history for South African cricket. Botha led them to a 4-1 ODI series win, the first time ever that they had won a bilateral series against Australia in Australia. His bowling in that series was one of the vital factors behind their success. With an economy rate of just over 4, he never allowed the Australians to score freely and kept them tied down.

Botha continued to grow and he gained further success in the ICC World T-20 in England. His standout performance in that tournament was his haul of 3/16 against World Champions India in the Super six stage. This performance would have been particularly satisfying, coming as it did, against players renowned for their handling of spin.

Botha was in-line for captaincy of the South African team in shorter forms of the game after Graeme Smith stepped aside. However, less than a year after being stand-in captain, he was axed and AB de Villiers was appointed as the captain for both ODIs and T20Is. He also lost his place in the side to Robin Peterson.

After being overlooked by the selectors, Botha asked Cricket South Africa to release him from the central contract as he did not want to just travel with the team and sit around. He wanted to play regular cricket and hence shifted base to South Australia, where he was straightaway named as the captain of the domestic side. He did not regret the move he made as that gave him more time to spend with his family and get to lead a side that wants to improve. Botha also captained the Adelaide Striker's in the 2013/14 Big Bash League.

Allegations of chucking still continue to haunt Botha's career, but his fiercely competitive streak makes him fight on. He has featured for the Rajasthan Royals as well as the Delhi Daredevils in the IPL. He went unsold in the 2014 auctions.

Interesting fact: He has named his son Austin. It is a combination of the country where he played his first Test ,which is Australia and his first ODI, that is India.

by Siddharth Vishwanathan and Akshay Maanay
As of April 2014