Botha Hauled Up For His Bowling Action Again

South African off-spinner Johan Botha was reported for a suspect bowling action by the match officials after the game at Port Elizabeth on Monday. The two on-field umpires, Brian Jerling and Asoka de Silva, and the third umpire, Rudi Koertzen, made it clear that they were concerned about the legality of Botha’s quicker ball and his Doosra. Botha will now have to undergo bio-mechanical testing under the guidance of the ICC and a decision will be made accordingly.

While the test results are pending, Botha is eligible to continue to play for South Africa. If, however, the test results confirm the doubts of the three officiating umpires of the previous game, Botha will be suspended from international cricket with immediate effect. He will, though, be given the opportunity to apply for a re-assessment of his action whenever he feels ready for it.

Botha will be tested within 21 days after CSA (Cricket South Africa) receives a formal notice from the ICC, and the results of the bio-mechanical assessment will be reported within 14 days of the test. While CSA appeared struck and disappointed by this piece of news, Gerald Majola, the CSA chief executive, remained hopeful that Botha’s name would be cleared before the World Twenty20 in England later in the summer.

A History Of Trouble

This is not the first time Botha has been in trouble because of his bowling action. > His action was first reported after his test debut against Australia at the SCG in January 2006. The results of the following test confirmed the illegality of his action and he was suspended from bowling. He was in trouble once again in September 2006, when his action was again found to be illegal after he had supposedly corrected it. He once again worked on his action, got the stamp of legality and resumed playing in the Afro-Asia cup 2007. Since then he hadn’t faced any trouble until now.

During the one day series in Australia earlier in the summer, he had sounded very confident about the legality of his action. “I have put a lot of work into my action…It probably took 10 months from my first test to the one I passed. I still have (the doosra), but I probably don’t bowl it as much as I used to. Definitely, it is possible to bowl it legally…” Talking in greater detail about his Doosra, he said, “My doosra actually tested lower than my off spinner for elbow extension. I think my doosra was at 9 per cent, and my offie was at 11 per cent, which are both well below the limit. With the doosra, your wrist cocks to a point where it is actually harder to extend your elbow. I just use it better than I did in the past.”

The legal limit for elbow extension is 15 percent according to the latest ICC standards. According to the more stringent testing system in place now, if Botha bowls a single delivery where his elbow extends beyond 15 percent during a test period of several overs, he will fail the test.

With his stifling spin bowling, Botha has become a very critical component of South Africa’s one day team and is an integral part of their long-term plans ahead of the next world cup. If his action is found to be illegal once again, it will be a big blow to the Proteas ahead of a busy season.