Rabada set to keep his cool in Cape Town after Test ban lifted
South Africa expects Kagiso Rabada to rise above any Australian attempts to bait him in the third Test after the Proteas fast bowler's suspension was overturned upon appeal.
Rabada had been given a two-Test ban resulting from a physical send-off in which he brushed the shoulder of Australia captain Steve Smith in the second match of the series in Port Elizabeth.
He had his level-two charge of making "inappropriate and deliberate physical contact" with Smith thrown out on Tuesday (AEDT), with independent judicial commissioner Michael 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.
It means the world's top-ranked bowler, fresh from claiming man-of-the-match honours in Port Elizabeth following an 11-wicket haul, will feature in the third Test in Cape Town beginning Thursday.
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.
Proteas coach Ottis Gibson is confident Rabada will keep his cool at Newlands in Cape Town.
"He's a smart kid and I'm sure he's learnt his lesson from what happened last week," 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.
"He's too important a player for us to have something like this go on again."
Aussies expected Rabada to play third Test
Australia off spinner Nathan Lyon was not surprised Rabada was cleared to play in Cape Town.
"We were preparing for him to play. We want to play against the best players in the world," he said.
"We respect the ICC's decision. It's not for me to sit here and say it's right or wrong."
Rabada has now been booked for five separate incidents during the past 13 months.
Gibson insists the express paceman will 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 teammates."
Proteas team manager Mohammed Moosajee, who gave evidence at Rabada's hearing, described Heron's verdict as being "great for the series and for Test cricket".
"There were definitely key learnings for everybody. I think it will stimulate healthy debate," Moosajee said.
"We will always support our players in situations like these where we believe the code of conduct has been unfairly forced upon us."
AAP
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ABC .net
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