England vs South Africa: Proteas pacer Kagiso Rabada gets one match ban for misconduct

London: South African pacer Kagiso Rabada has been suspended for next week’s second Test against England at Trent Bridge for breaching ICC’s ‘Code of Conduct’ during the opening day’s play of first Test. [caption id=“attachment_3789407” align=“alignleft” width=“300”]  Kagiso Rabada celebrates taking the wicket of England’s Ben Stokes. AFP[/caption] Rabada has accumulated four demerit points within a 24-month period following his latest breach for which he received a 15 percent fine and one demerit point. During the opening day’s play in the Lord’s Test against England on Thursday, Rabada was found guilty of breaching article 2.1.7 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Player and Player Support Personnel, which relates to “using language, actions or gestures which disparage or which could provoke an aggressive reaction from a batsman upon his/her dismissal during an International Match”. As Rabada had received a 50 percent fine and three demerit points in the fourth One-Day International against Sri Lanka in Cape Town on 8 February 2017, with the addition of this one demerit point, he has reached the threshold of four demerit points, which, pursuant to article 7.6 of the Code, have now been converted into two suspension points. Two suspension points equate to a ban from one Test or two ODIs or two T20Is, whatever comes first for the player. As such, Rabada has been suspended from his side’s second Test against England, which will be played at Tent Bridge from 14-18 July. Following this suspension, the four demerit points will remain on Rabada’s disciplinary record. If he reaches the next threshold of eight or more demerit points within a 24-month period, then they will be converted into four suspension points. Four suspension points equate to a ban from one Test and two ODIs or two T20Is, two Tests or four ODIs or four T20Is, whatever comes first for the player. Thursday’s incident related to Rabada using inappropriate language after dismissing England batsman Ben Stokes, which were audible over the stump microphones and also resulted in the batsman to turn before walking off the field. Rabada admitted the offence on Friday afternoon and accepted the sanction proposed by match referee Jeff Crowe and, as such, there was no need for a formal hearing. The charges were leveled by on-field umpires Paul Reiffel and S.Ravi, third umpire Simon Fry and fourth official Rob Bailey. Level 1 breaches carry a minimum penalty of an official reprimand, a maximum penalty of 50 percent of a player’s match fee, and one or two demerit points.