Rabada charged after Smith incident

PORT ELIZABETH: South Afri-can fast bowler Kagiso Rabada will face a disciplinary hearing that could result in a ban from the third Test against Australia.

Cricket South Africa said Rabada, who devastated the Australian batting order on the first day of the second Test on Friday, has been charged with a level two offence following an incident with Australian captain Steve Smith.

Level two offences are for conduct of a serious nature. In Rabada’s case the alleged offence is that of making inappropriate or deliberate contact with another player.

Rabada shouted in celebration and approached Smith aggressively after winning a leg before wicket decision against him and the shoulders of the players made contact.

It is the second incident of a bad-tempered series after Australia’s vice-captain David Warner was fined 75 percent of his match fee for an altercation in a stairwell with the home side’s wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock.

The charge against Rabada was brought by the on-field umpires, Kumar Dharmasena and Chris Gaffaney. The hearing will be conducted by International Cricket Council match referee Jeff Crowe.

A Cricket South Africa spokesperson said Rabada would defend the charge and argue that the contact with Smith was accidental.

If found guilty Rabada could be fined between 50 and 100 percent of his match fee and could be penalised three or four demerit points. Because he already has five demerit points, which led to him being suspended for a Test match against England last year, Rabada could be liable to serve another suspension, which could rule him out of the two remaining Tests in the series.

Rabada’s rap sheet dates back to February last year, when he picked up three

demerit points and a 50% match fee fine after a shoulder shove to Sri Lanka’s Niroshan Dickwella in an One-Day International.

He then earned a another demerit point in July, when he swore at Ben Stokes after dismissing him at Lord’s during the first Test between South Africa and England.

Rabada missed the second Test at Trent Bridge as a result; four demerit points lead to a ban of one Test or two limited-overs games, whichever comes first, while eight demerit points result in double the penalty.

Each demerit point stays on a player’s record for a period of 24 months, staying active even after the four-point threshold is broken.

This year, Rabada added a fifth point to his name when he gave Shikhar Dhawan a send-off during an ODI at St George’s Park last month.