Veteran South African coaxed out of retirement, rejoins Hobart Hurricanes as replacement player

Hobart’s spin stocks have received a huge boost prior to Sandeep Lamichhane’s arrival, with Johan Botha returning two seasons after announcing his sudden retirement midway through BBL|08.

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NEARLY two years after stunning the Hurricanes and pulling the plug halfway through BBL|08, Johan Botha will come out of retirement and return to Hobart.

The former South African captain joined the group on a two-year deal, but abruptly announced he was ending his playing career following a match against the Sydney Sixers at the SCG in January 2019.

Botha entered the tournament under an injury cloud due to a bulging disc in his back and cited physical fatigue as the reason for his shock decision, which came after the Hurricanes had started its campaign 8-1.

However the 38-year-old, who has also featured for the Sixers and Adelaide, declared he has unfinished business.

Johan Botha bowls during the Big Bash League match between the Adelaide Strikers and the Hobart Hurricanes at Adelaide Oval on January 21, 2019 in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images)

Discussions between the dual South African-Australian citizen and the Hurricanes began during the Sheffield Shield hub in Adelaide, with Botha signing as a replacement player for Test skipper Tim Paine.

“Obviously, the Hurricanes is the last team I finished with, and it wasn’t quite the end I wanted,” Botha said.

“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’ [coach Adam Griffith] 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?’ [where he coaches Karachi].

After abruptly walking out on the Hurricanes midway through BBL|08 and announcing his retirement, Johan Botha will make a shock return this summer. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)

“I figured I’m as fit as I’ve ever been, and I feel I can still make a contribution to the team. “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.”

With Sandeep Lamichhane not joining the group until after Christmas, Botha is firmly in the mix to feature in the side’s opener against the Sixers on Thursday.

Joining Botha as replacement players in the Hurricanes squad are Tigers duo Charlie Wakim and Caleb Jewell.

Wakim is cover for Matthew Wade while Jewell, who broke the record for the highest CTPL T20 score a fortnight ago, earns a BBL reprieve while Mitch Owen recovers from stress fractures.

“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,” Griffith said.

“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.”

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