Botha's action declared illegal once again

Things aren't going too well for Johan Botha, the Warriors and South Africa offspinner, as the ICC has termed his bowling action illegal for a second time in his career.

Botha had been working on his action since he was called for chucking in his debut Test against Australia at Sydney this January.

The ICC had examined his revised action in August and it was hoped that he would soon return to international cricket. But further tests done towards the end of August confirmed that he continued to bend his arm more than 15 degrees.

"We're very disappointed and will do everything possible to get Johan back in action as soon as possible," Brian Basson, Cricket South Africa's general manager, told Supercricket website. "It's not good for cricket or the psychological welfare of the player to draw out the episode."

Botha had started out as a medium pacer for the Warriors, but switched to spin on the advice of Mickey Arthur, South Africa's national coach. He last played international cricket in the VB series against Sri Lanka at Hobart this February. He played for the Warriors as a batsman the whole of last season.