Speedster Rabada keeps eye on game
PROTEAS fast bowler Kagiso “KG” Rabada is not too bothered by the new International Cricket Committee (ICC) rules that come into effect tomorrow.
Speaking from Senwes Park on Tuesday as the Proteas stepped up their preparations for the first test against Bangladesh tomorrow‚ Rabada said his focus was on his game and not on things he could not control.
“I am not too sure how other players will feel about the changes to the rules, but I am not too fussed about them‚” he said.
“They are rules at the end of the day, but they don’t equip or stop you from performing.
“I will take it every game as it comes and not focus too much on the rules.”
Tomorrow’s match in Potchefstroom is only the second test to be played at the North West venue, and Rabada admitted that he did not have an idea of how the pitch was going to play out.
“Normally at franchise cricket, it’s a good wicket, which is good to bat on and an extremely quick outfield.
“There is something in the wicket for the bowlers, with good bounce and pace in it.
“So‚ I guess we will have to wait and see how it plays out during the test match.”
Rabada and Morne Morkel will lead the South African fast bowling attack, with the assistance of Duane Olivier.
Rabada said the absence of Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander would not negatively affect them.
“Dale has not been around for a while and he has proven over a long period of time that he is a key player for us.
“Together with Vernon Philander, they are world-class bowlers‚ but we do have guys who are up and coming, and this will be a test to see whether we can do it without them or not. “Looking at it‚ I am pretty confident that we can.” The South Africans started working with new coach Ottis Gibson this week and Rabada said he had been insightful and had not changed most of the things they had been doing under Russell Domingo.
“We have got together under a new coach and you can almost tell that this is a new beginning.
“But‚ we have the same technical team and only a couple of new faces in the team.
“We also have the same old coaching staff, but we are settling in and I hope that this game will help.”
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PLAYERS could be sent off for the first time in cricket, starting with test matches in South Africa and the United Arab Emirates this week, as new regulations come into force.
Changes governing umpire referrals and bat sizes will also come into force tomorrow when South Africa host Bangladesh and Sri Lanka play Pakistan in Abu Dhabi, the sport’s governing body the International Cricket Council said.
The Decision Review System (DRS) -- in which a TV umpire reviews decisions made by umpires on the field -- will be allowed in Twenty20 internationals after its success in test and one-day matches.
Under the new rules, a player can now be sent off for the rest of the match for serious misconduct.
This could include threatening to assault an umpire, making inappropriate and deliberate physical contact with an umpire, assaulting a player or any other person and any other act of violence.
To maintain the balance between bat and ball, there are new restrictions on the size of bat edges and its thickness.
The permitted length and width of bats remains unchanged, but the edges cannot be more than 40mm thick and the overall depth is limited to 67mm. Umpires will use a new gauge to check legality. The ICC said all changes would be applicable across all (three) formats.
“Most of the changes to the ICC playing conditions are being made as a result of changes to the laws of cricket that have been announced by the MCC,” ICC general manager Geoff Allardyce said.
“We have just completed a workshop with the umpires to ensure they understand all of the changes and we are now ready to introduce the new playing conditions to international matches.”
If a team refers an umpire’s decision to the TV umpire and the on-field decision remains unchanged because the DRS shows umpire’s call, the team will not lose that review.
But teams will now have only two unsuccessful reviews for the entire innings of a test. – AFP
We have just completed a workshop with the umpires to ensure they understand all of the changes