Botha's bowling action cleared

Johan Botha, the former South Africa spinner who's now playing for South Australia, has had his bowling action cleared by Cricket Australia. Botha had undergone biomechanical analysis of his action after he was reported by the umpires in a domestic one-day match in early October.

The analysis, conducted under CA and ICC testing procedures, required Botha to bowl six balls each of the various deliveries in his repertoire - an offspinner, a quicker ball and a flicker. The analysis found that all of those deliveries fell within - or equal to - the allowed 15 degrees of flex that is deemed legal by the ICC.

Botha was cited by umpires Simon Fry, Michael Graeme-Smith and Geoff Joshua in the Ryobi Cup match between South Australia and Victoria in Sydney on October 4. He was eligible to continue playing, though, and would have only been suspended from bowling if the analysis proved his action to be illegal.

Botha has had problems with his bowling action throughout his career. He was reported first soon after his debut Test in January 2006 and was subsequently banned from bowling by the ICC. Another examination in August that year found his action to be illegal once again and he was cleared to bowl only in November. In 2009, following an ODI against Australia in Port Elizabeth, Botha was reported once again and this time the ICC ruled that his action while bowling the doosra was illegal and he was banned from bowling it. His other deliveries, however, were found to be within permissible limits and since then Botha had no problems with his action until now.

Cameron White, the Victoria batsman, who had faced Botha during the match in which he was cited, and said he did not think any doosras had been delivered during the spells he faced.