Johan Botha (born 2 May 1982 in Johannesburg) is a bowler who plays cricket for South Africa. Botha's case is an interesting one. He began his career as an ordinary medium pacer for the Eastern Cape Warriors - by his own admission he was quicker than 125 kmph - but it was only after Mickey Arthur, the coach of the national team, had a look at him in the nets and saw something else that Botha dropped his ambitions for speed. Spurred on by Arthur's comments that he would do well to turn to spin, Botha remodeled his action and began studying the art of the doosra (A ball that turns away from the right-handed batsman) in hopes of emulating the wiles of Harbhajan Singh. A successful tour of Sri Lanka with the South Africa A side - in which he took key wickets as well as scoring runs - saw Botha's name penciled in as a potential spinning all-rounder. A determined and fiercely competitive individual, Botha found a place in the squad to tour India for a five-match one-day series after Nicky Boje pulled out over security concerns in regard to charges of matchfixing. He played in the first match at Hyderabad and produced a spell of 31 runs from six overs with the wicket of Irfan Pathan, bowled through the gate. Both Arthur and Graeme Smith rated him highly enough to see him as a vital part of the sides world cup campaign. He made his Test debut against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground in January 2006 during the 2005-06 tour, and claimed batsman Mike Hussey as his first Test wicket. However, he was reported for throwing the ball at the conclusion of the match. He was allowed to play several games during the 2005–06 VB Series, but in February, was suspended from bowling following an analysis by bowling expert Bruce Elliott. He hoped to return to bowling after an examination by the ICC in August 2006, but he was found still to be straightening his arm more than the acceptable 15 degrees. On November 21, 2006, Johan Botha's action was passed by the International Cricket Council and he was again eligible for selection by the South African national team. He made his comeback during the 2007 Afro-Asia Cup and returned to the South African one-day team during the tour of Pakistan in 2007-08.
