Johan Botha off to Australia

[MickeyD]

What a loss to South African cricket... better recognised in other countries than your own. What a farce.


Johannesburg - Cricket South Africa (CSA) announced on Friday that it has decided to release Johan Botha from his national contract after the ICC World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka in September.

"Johan has been an excellent servant of South African cricket for a lengthy period of time and we will never forget the manner in which he captained the Proteas to success in the absence of Graeme Smith in the away ODI series in Australia in 2009," said CSA's acting chief executive, Jacques Faul, in a statement.

"He has fully committed himself to the Proteas for the next five months which includes the away series in Zimbabwe and England as well as the World Twenty20 and is, at the moment, our first choice spinner in the T20 format.

"However, he has had an offer to captain South Australia over the next two seasons and this will provide valuable opportunities in broadening his experience in a leadership role.

"I must stress that Johan remains fully committed to South African cricket in the long run and is by no means bringing down the curtain on his international career for the Proteas."

Botha expressed his gratitude for CSA for his contract release.

"I remain fully committed to the Proteas in the long term," he said.

"But I would hate to look back on my career at the end and regret that I did not take this opportunity.

"It is purely a cricket decision and there is no financial incentive in accepting it.

"If anything I will be earning less than I would as a contracted player."

Botha captained South Africa in their rain-hit T20 against India at the Wanderers on Friday night.

http://www.sport24.co.za/Cricket/Proteas/Johan-Botha-off-to-Australia-20120330

[Jola]

Great pity, but he was never treated as well as he deserved in SA !

[McT]

Wow. This is a sad day for South African cricket, but his reasons are fully understood and justified. As he said, it would be awful as a player to look back on your career and rue missed opportunities.

I wish him all the best and will be following his career down under.

[SinghDude]

CSA have messed up yet again.

When will administrators ever figure out that the game is about the players and not them ?

[nexxus]

He's a centrally contracted player & was captain of the T20 team. He lost his first choice place in the ODI team because Peterson had a storming World Cup but has still been in and around.

The CSA has generally been a large pile of steaming doggie doo of late but not quite sure what more they could've done? Made him test captain?

[VJB 449]

Pity he never got a proper change in the test squad.

[MickeyD]

He's a centrally contracted player & was captain of the T20 team. He lost his first choice place in the ODI team because Peterson had a storming World Cup but has still been in and around.

The CSA has generally been a large pile of steaming doggie doo of late but not quite sure what more they could've done? Made him test captain?
AB de Villiers captains the T20 and ODI teams. I speak under correction but he hardly played in NZ.

[modern10]

Where would Botha even fit into the current team. Come now okes we can't keep crying and blaming administrators, there are only 11 spots in the team.

[Cpc]

Botha has to be the most under rated player in all formats of the game. CSA at their best?

[McT]

Botha has to be the most under rated player in all formats of the game. CSA at their best?

CSA are not at their best and haven't been for a long time now. Fact. Until they fire Majola and/or the rest of the board and administrators involved in the bonus payment ordeal are fired or resign, it is unlikely that the association will be focused.

[Cpc]

Botha has to be the most under rated player in all formats of the game. CSA at their best?

CSA are not at their best and haven't been for a long time now. Fact. Until they fire Majola and/or the rest of the board and administrators involved in the bonus payment ordeal are fired or resign, it is unlikely that the association will be focused.

Ja that's what I meant :p

[Lament]

Johan Botha stats : in 78 ODI's he took 72 wickets at a average of 40.5, Econ of 4.57, his batting average is 19
Please tell me where he did not get his chance?, 78 matches is chance enough!!

Imran Tahir, in 148 first class games he took 619 wickets at a average of 25.
We have a world class spinner, we must start using him in his fav format, ODI's !!!

[nexxus]

Not quite sure where all the Botha love comes from. He's ok but in a Nicky Boje 2.0 kind of way. He's never going to be a threat in test matches because he doesn't turn the ball much & doesn't quite have the nous of someone like Kumble, who was a master of flight, line, length & pace.

He's the bog standard SA spinner in the mould of Tim Shaw, Eksteen, Rundle, Symcox, Boje & Harris. It doesn't mean I don't like him, he always gives it his all & is a clever cricketer but let's not think we just let the SA Shane Warne slip through our fingers.

[Lament]

Not quite sure where all the Botha love comes from. He's ok but in a Nicky Boje 2.0 kind of way. He's never going to be a threat in test matches because he doesn't turn the ball much & doesn't quite have the nous of someone like Kumble, who was a master of flight, line, length & pace.

He's the bog standard SA spinner in the mould of Tim Shaw, Eksteen, Rundle, Symcox, Boje & Harris. It doesn't mean I don't like him, he always gives it his all & is a clever cricketer but let's not think we just let the SA Shane Warne slip through our fingers.

i agree that Johan Botha is no major loss, but Nicky Boje Averaged 35 in 115 matches, with 96 wickets, with the bat he averaged 27, so in my books Boje was better than Botha

[Lament]

South Africa has only one spinner and that’s Tahir, all the other so-called spinners are actually only slow left/Right arm bowlers.
Botha was okay at best when he was allowed to blown the do0sra, but after they banned him from bowling it, there’s really nothing separating him from any other SA “Spinner”