Johan van der Wath has developed into a versatile allrounder, capable of lively pace bowling and powerful hitting in the middle order. He had a short stint in county cricket with Sussex during 2005, and then gained a spot in the South Africa A side for the tour of Sri Lanka and matches against New Zealand A. An impressive 2006 domestic season for the Eagles, which included a Man of the Match performance in the Standard Bank Cup final, ensured he was always in the selector's minds. He promptly earned his first international call-up when Jacques Kallis was forced home from the 2005-06 VB Series, and picked up 10 wickets in the tournament. He overcame a six-ball duck on debut by thumping an unbeaten 37 - with four sixes - off 16 balls against Australia in South Africa's final match. He has not played an ODI for South Africa since September 2006, but was called into the squad for the Twenty20 World Championship nearly a year later. After turning out for the Mumbai Champs in the two seasons of the ICL, he finally returned to the South African fold after the CSA's amnesty offer
Andrew McGlashan June 2009