Johan Botha banned by ICC

Johan Botha undergoing testing at the University of Western Australia last week © Getty Images

The ICC has announced that Johan Botha, the South African offspinner, has been suspended from bowling in international cricket. The decision follows his action being cited during the third Test against Australia at Sydney last month.

Dave Richardson, the ICC's general manager - cricket, said that the ban will apply until Botha can be shown to have remedied his action. "The independent report has identified excessive levels of straightening in both his off-break and doosra deliveries," Richardson explained. "It's now up to Johan to remedy the concerns that have been identified ahead of a reassessment which will be necessary if he is to return to international cricket. Johan is a young player and there's nothing to stop him making a successful return to international cricket with a remodelled action."

Botha, who underwent independent testing by a team led by Professor Bruce Elliott at the University of Western Australia on February 1, had not been reported before. He now has to submit to fresh independent analysis to establish that he has remedied his action. The timing of any reassessment is at the discretion of the United Cricket Board of South Africa and the player.

Botha has 14 days to appeal. But if he returns to international cricket and is again ruled to have been bowling with an illegal action with 24 months of his return then he faces an automatic one-year ban.

Botha is the fifth player to have undergone an independent review of his action since a new process for the review of suspected illegal actions was introduced in March 2005. The other players are Harbhajan Singh, Shabbir Ahmed, Shoaib Malik and Jermaine Lawson.