Friday, March 30, 2012

Botha all set for South Australia

South African all-rounder Johan Botha has confirmed he will leave his contract with the national side after the World Twenty20 later this year before going on to take up his new role as captain of South Australia.

The experienced one-day specialist appears to have impressed the South Australian management following his impressive spell for the Adelaide Strikers in last season's Big Bash League. Now, the South African will take over the captaincy from Michael Klinger, following a Sheffield Shield season which saw the club fail to win a single match. Those placing cricket bets will have been surprised.

Despite winning their first one-day title in 25 years, Klinger has paid the price for a shocking first class campaign, prompting the decision to bring in Botha – despite the South African's modest record in the longer format of the game. While he will still be available for selection in the future, Botha will take this chance to try his hand at cricket in Australia. Those looking at the IPL betting need to bear this in mind.

There have been some that have accused Botha of making the decision to leave his central contract with the Proteas due to financial reasons, however, the 29-year old has insisted he could have made more money by sticking with his contract in South Africa, maintaining the decision has been made based solely on cricketing matters.

"I remain fully committed to the Proteas in the long term but I would hate to look back on my career at the end and regret that I did not take this opportunity."

"It is purely a cricket decision and there is no financial incentive in accepting it. If anything I will be earning less than I would as a contracted player."

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