Support ahead of Rabada appeal
ICC disciplinary system under scrutiny this week
ASHOULDER charge? A brushing of shirts? An extraordinary reaction to an ordinary event? A deserved comeuppance for a repeat offender? A cynical manipulation of the rules?
The moment Kagiso Rabada’s shoulder bumped Steve Smith’s at St George’s Park on March 9 has put the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) disciplinary system under focus.
That focus will sharpen today when Rabada’s appeal against his two-match ban is heard.
Michael Herron‚ a prominent New Zealand queen’s counsel‚ will hear the case and then have 48 hours to deliver his decision. Dali Mpofu‚ the high profile advocate who in 1999 had Makhaya Ntini’s conviction for rape overturned on appeal‚ will represent Rabada.
Should the fast bowler prevail, he will be free to play in South Africa’s last two Tests against Australia.
Should his ban be upheld he will be a spectator in a series he played a major role in keeping competitive by taking 11/150 in Port Elizabeth to help South Africa level matters at 1-1.
The prevailing South African narrative on the saga has painted Rabada as the victim of both the ICC’s demerit system and of the Australians’ knowledge of how to play that system.
But Rabada‚ Test cricket’s number one-ranked bowler and also it’s most demerited player‚ is his own worst enemy. He has had five dealings with match referees in 13 months‚ one of which resulted in a one-match ban.
He had five demerit points hanging over his head going into the St George’s Park Test.
Three more points‚ Rabada and everyone else knew‚ would result in a suspension.
As in other matters of law‚ ignorance was no defence.
“Match referees meet with team leaders at the start of each series‚ and use this opportunity to talk about any trends in player behaviour and the way the code is to be applied‚ and the teams are advised where the players in an upcoming series stand with respect to their tally of demerit points‚” an ICC spokesperson said.
Both the South Africans and the Australians have admitted they had or would consider trying to provoke players who are closer to a ban from acting in a way that would attract more demerit points.
Does the ICC accept that this practice is a problem?
“There have been comments made about provoking players with demerit points but after 18 months of this new system we have seen few‚ if any‚ examples of it actually happening.
“In 854 days of international cricket in 2017 we saw just six code of conduct offences level two and above. The majority of cricket takes place without incident.”
An example may have been Mitchell Marsh swearing at Rabada after the latter had dismissed the former in the second innings at St George’s Park – rare for departing batsmen. That earned Marsh a fine and a demerit point.
Despite that South Africans have been vocal in their support of Rabada‚ with former Springbok lock Bakkies Botha climbing in boots and all.
“Steven Smith gets acquainted with KG’s replacement‚” ran the headline across a photograph of Botha‚ in cricket whites‚ hulking over Smith in a post on Botha’s twitter account on Friday.
“I wanna lend a hand‚” the tweet said. “I wanna be there for KG. Send me!”
Late on Wednesday night Vernon Philander appeared to tweet‚ “Haven’t really seen the footage of this incident but by the looks of this … Steve Smith gave ‘KG’ the shoulder.
“He could have avoided any contact but to me he is just as guilty. Trying some football skills to get a penalty? Pity he didn’t dive to top it off.”
By Thursday morning Philander had disowned‚ and deleted‚ the tweet: “Someone posted a nice little article on my behalf. Sorry for all the drama or entertainment caused.”
Talk of spectator boycotts at Newlands and the Wanderers‚ where the fourth Test starts on March 30‚ if Rabada remains banned, is circulating.
But it seems Rabada himself has had a change of mind on how guilty he is.
“It’s debatable‚” Rabada said according to reports published on Friday when he was asked whether he had been harshly dealt with.
“Some people think so‚ some people don’t.
“On the video it looks like I got into the guy’s space‚ so I shouldn’t have done that. I’ll say 50/50‚ it’s my fault. I didn’t feel anything in the moment.”
Not that anybody’s opinion on the issue matters‚ and that goes for Rabada as much as it does for the expensive lawyers involved. The fact is the code of conduct is not going to change because players who fall foul of it‚ and their supporters‚ are unhappy about being punished. What will have to change is player behaviour.