CSA heaves sigh of relief after ICC's Botha decision

DURBAN: Johan Botha's 'doosra' mighthave been declared illegal but Cricket South Africa is relieved that the ICC hasnot banned the off-spinner altogether and has cleared his off-break and arm-balldeliveries. "We welcome the positive outcome of the tests on JohanBotha after his citing by match officials towards the end of the recent tour byAustralia," CSA CEO Gerald Majola said in a statement. Botha, thevice-captain of South Africa's Twenty20 World Championship team, has been askednot to bowl the doosra but will be able to continue his career normally.Botha's biomechanic tests revealed that the amount of elbowextension in his bowling action for both his off-break and arm-ball was withinthe 15-degree level of tolerance. But none of his doosra deliveriesfell within the legal limit. "CSA has the utmost confidence inJohan's ability as a top-class off-spin bowler. The ICC tests have found faultwith his doosra, and CSA and Johan will abide by this finding," Majola said."But what is most important is that Johan remains available to playcricket at the highest level and continue to be an asset for the Proteas and hiscountry," he added. Botha said he was also relieved that the processhad been completed."I am looking forward to playing my next matchfor the Proteas and linking up with my teammates for the forthcoming ICC WorldT20 in England," he said. "I have been bowling regularly in the netsand am happy with the way everything has been going," he added.Proteas' bowling coach Vinnie Barnes was also pleased that Botha hadbeen cleared. "I don't think the fact that he can no longer bowl thedoosra will affect his career negatively. It is a delivery he does not bowl agreat deal and, in fact, he only bowled it four times in the four home ODIs heplayed against Australia according to our research. "We have anoutstanding group of spin bowlers in our squad for the ICC World T20 and it isan exciting period for spin bowling in South African cricket," Barnes said.