Rabada told to keep his cool
South Africa coach Ottis Gibson expects Kagiso Rabada to rise above any Australian attempts to bait him in the third cricket test.
Rabada’s two-test suspension, resulting from a physical sendoff in which he brushed the shoulder of Australia captain Steve Smith in Port Elizabeth, has been overturned on appeal.
It means the world’s topranked bowler, fresh from manof-the-match honours in the second test, will be steaming in during the match that starts in Cape Town tonight.
Rabada, however, is on his final warning.
The 22-year-old’s poor disciplinary record now stands at seven demerit points. Another misdeed, no matter how minor, will trigger a two-test ban.
Smith last month floated the idea of trying to provoke Rabada and it wouldn’t be a major surprise if the tourists adopt that tactic at Newlands.
‘‘I don’t think so. They might do but he’s a smart kid and I’m sure he’s learnt his lesson from what happened
Gibson said.
‘‘I don’t expect that he will make the same mistake again. He’s not badly behaved, he’s just very excited and exuberant sometimes.
‘‘In all the stuff that he did there was no aggressive intent, other than celebrating a wicket, but we’ve made him aware of the batsman’s space and where his space needs to be.’’
Rabada has now been booked last week,’’ for five separate incidents during the past 13 months.
Gibson insisted the express paceman would be in a good mental state when the series continues, pointing to how desperate he was to train on Monday after a six-hour hearing.
‘‘He’s a strong character,’’ he said.
‘‘You saw yesterday, he came out and I had to almost force him to warm up because all he wanted to do was get stuck in with his team-mates.’’
Rabada had his level-two charge of making ‘‘inappropriate and deliberate physical contact’’ with Smith thrown out, with Heron overturning the verdict of match referee Jeff Crowe.
Heron instead found Rabada guilty of a minor level-one charge of conduct that is contrary to the spirit of the game.
‘‘We were preparing for him to play. We want to play against the best players in the world,’’ Australia offspinner Nathan Lyon said.
‘‘We respect the ICC’S decision. It’s not for me to sit here and say it’s right or wrong.’’