Canes veteran retires from all cricket

Hobart Hurricanes veteran Johan Botha has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket, effective immediately.

Just hours after Hobart’s loss to the Sydney Sixers at the SCG, the Hurricanes announced the match would be Botha’s last.

In a statement, the Hurricanes said Botha had “cited wear and tear on his body and sheer physical fatigue behind his sudden announcement”.

The 36-year-old has played all 10 matches for the Canes so far this season and took 0-12 against the Sixers.

Botha said getting physically prepared for top-level cricket after a long off-season had become increasingly difficult, and he wanted to step aside in time for the Hurricanes to fill his spot before the finals.

“It was tough, you never want these things to end,” he said.

“The gaps between seasons have become really long for me, 10 months I felt was really long.

“I just feel like the position the team’s in at the moment … I just feel like it’s a good time to open that No.8 spot up with four games to go until the play-offs. And not wait until then by hanging on and hanging on and then … think ‘this is too much’.

“It’s better to move aside and let the next player come in.”  

The former captain of South Africa’s one-day and T20 sides, Botha played five Tests, 78 ODIs and 40 T20Is for the Proteas between 2005 and 2012.

Having moved to Australia in 2012 and become a citizen in 2016, Botha played for the Strikers, Sixers and Hurricanes in a successful KFC BBL career and also captained the Redbacks in first-class and one-day cricket.

Botha made his Test debut against Australia in 2006, but the early stages of his career were marred by reports of an illegal bowling action, which led to him being suspended.

While his Test career was brief, he was a regular feature of South Africa’s limited overs teams for several years and has played in T20 leagues around the world since the end of his international career.

Botha’s sudden retirement leaves the Hurricanes with two vacancies on their list after English import Tymal Mills was ruled out on the eve of the tournament.

The Canes have so far resisted the urge to rush in a replacement player, especially given they are currently two games clear at the top of the table.

"We're not going to get someone just for the sake of it," coach Adam Griffith told cricket.com.au earlier in the tournament.

"We want to make sure they're the right person. And if the right person doesn't come up, we'll go through with the crew we've got.

"We're very, very confident in the players we have on our list at the moment to help us get through the tournament.”