Photo Credit: Hobart Hurricanes
Johan Botha is coming out of retirement and pulling on the purple to celebrate the 10th edition of the KFC Big Bash League (BBL|10).
The all-rounder is no stranger to the BBL, having previously played three seasons with the Adelaide Strikers from 2012 to 2014, before joining the Sydney Sixers from 2015 to 2018, and then the Hobart Hurricanes for BBL|08. Botha made what was to many a surprise announcement of his retirement in January 2019, following a clash where the Hurricanes lost to the Sixers at the SCG.
At the time the then 36-year-old cited physical fatigue behind his decision to immediately retire, however now Botha says that after nearly two years away from playing at the top level, he feels his body is refreshed and he still has a lot he can offer the group.
“Obviously, the Hurricanes is the last team I finished with, and it wasn’t quite the end I wanted. There were four games to go in the season back then, and the guys were playing really good cricket.
“I didn’t think I’d get another opportunity to play, and then chatting to Ben Rohrer and Griff and they said there might be an opportunity coming up for me.
“It was a choice between ‘Do I further my coaching career, or do I miss the first couple of games of the Pakistan Super League?’”
[Botha is currently Assistant Coach of the Karachi Kings in the Pakistan Super League T20 competition.]
“I figured I’m as fit as I’ve ever been, and I feel I can still make a contribution to the team,” Botha continued. “I’ve missed playing but I didn’t really want to put it out there and say ‘can you pick me’ in case it didn’t work out, so we kept it quiet from when we first chatted about it at the Shield hub in Adelaide, and it slowly built up from there.”
“The little COVID cluster in Adelaide for instance didn’t help, so we just kept it quiet all along to make sure everything lined up.”
The former South African international will once again join the Hurricanes as a local player, given that he is now an Australian citizen.
Botha will be joined by Tasmanian Tigers squad member, Charlie Wakim, as replacement players for Matthew Wade and Tim Paine whilst they are on international duties.
Twenty-nine-year-old Wakim is a handy right-hand batsman and has previous BBL experience as a member of the Sydney Sixers Academy.
Local batsman, Caleb Jewell, will also join the squad as a replacement player, while Mitch Owen completes his recovery from a stress fracture.
Hurricanes Head Coach, Adam Griffith, said it was fantastic for the club to secure replacement players of such a high calibre.
“In Johan we have a proven performer who brings a very good skill set and also outstanding tactical knowledge of the game and will be great for our program on and off the field.
“Charlie has made runs consistently in our Hurricanes Academy Program for a couple of years now and has earned the opportunity to come onto the list.
“Caleb was unlucky not to secure a contract in our initial list, but after making three hundreds in grade cricket over the last month, comes back into our program in excellent form.”
Hurricanes General Manager, Scott Barnes, added that the calibre of the replacement players being added to the Hurricanes squad as replacement players was a testament to the club.
“The Australian summer of cricket is always a busy one, and teams always have a delicate balance of coordinating player availability with international commitments to ensure they can put the best possible team out on the field for every match.
“COVID has made this even more difficult this year, but we are confident that by adding players like Johan, Charlie and Caleb to the squad, we have the depth to combat any on-field situation.”
The Hurricanes will kick off the KFC BBL|10 when they face reigning Champions, the Sydney Sixers, at Blundstone Arena on Thursday 10 December.
For more information or to buy tickets, visit www.hobarthurricanes.com.au/tickets.
