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Smith on 'line in the sand'

Australia captain responds to Judicial Commissioner's decision to overturn Rabada two-match ban

Australia captain Steve Smith says there is now a “line in the sand” when it comes to physical contact on the cricket field after Proteas paceman Kagiso Rabada had his two-Test suspension overturned on Tuesday.

After a marathon six-hour hearing, Rabada was found not guilty by Judicial Commissioner Mike Heron QC of deliberately making contact with Smith when the pair brushed shoulders on day one in Port Elizabeth.

Instead, Rabada was hit with a lesser charge – conduct contrary to the spirit of the game – and a reduced penalty, allowing him to play in the third Test in Cape Town from tomorrow.

The Rabada verdict could now open a potential loophole for players who are charged with coming into contact with an opponent, as long as they can successfully argue they were not deliberately or intentionally meaning to do so.

Smith labelled the outcome as “interesting” and that the standard has been set when it comes players getting physical on the playing field.

“I certainly think he (Rabada) bumped me a little bit harder than it actually looked on the footage,” Smith told reporters at Newlands.

“It didn’t bother me too much. I guess the emotion after you get out you don’t really …. He’s won the battle.

“What’s the point of over-celebrating? And getting in the face of a batter, you’ve already won the battle.

“But they’ve obviously decided what’s deliberate contact and what’s not and apparently it wasn’t.”

Smith added: “The ICC have set the standard, haven't they?

“There was clearly contact out in the middle. I certainly won't be telling my bowlers to go out there and after you take a wicket go and get in their space.

“I don't think that is on and part of the game. But the standard has been set.”

Heron said in a statement that he was not ‘completely satisfied’ that Rabada intended to make contact with Smith, a ruling in conflict to the one ICC match referee Jeff Crowe made at the time of the incident.

“I found that there was contact between Rabada and Smith, and in my judgement the contact by Rabada was inappropriate, and deliberate,” Crowe said.

“He had the opportunity to avoid the contact, and I could not see any evidence to support the argument that the contact was accidental.”

Smith sounded surprised when revealing he was not called upon in the hearing despite being on the receiving end of Rabada’s nudge.

“It's pretty interesting when you're, I guess, looking for evidence and those kind of things,” Smith said.

“The other person involved (is) not getting asked about it is pretty interesting, I thought."

Rabada bombshell ahead of third Test

Proteas team manager Dr Mohammad Moosajee fronted the press yesterday and said the South Africa camp felt the ICC Code of Conduct (COC) had been ‘unfairly forced upon them’ and echoed captain Faf du Plessis’ calls for consistency when interpreting the COC.

But Smith praised Crowe’s efforts in the first half of a fiery Test series that saw the match referee manage six COC breaches.

"Yeah, I do (feel for him),” Smith said.

“The way he handled both sides throughout the two Test matches, I thought he did a terrific job.

“I'd be feeling a bit annoyed if I was him, to be perfectly honest.”

Crowe has been replaced by Zimbabwean Andy Pycroft as match referee for the final two Tests, a substitution that was planned prior to the series.

Smith said he and Australia’s veteran players have already spoken to Pycroft, who is set to speak to South Africa’s experienced heads, about playing out the remainder of the series in the right spirit.

But Smith suggested he might seek some further clarification about the Rabada ruling.

Watch: A history of Rabada's demerit points

“We sort of had a little chat this morning actually,” Smith said yesterday.

“A new match referee coming in, so he wanted to have a chat to the senior players so myself, Davey (Warner) and Nathan Lyon. I think he’s going to chat to Faf, AB (de Villiers) and Hashim (Amla) as well, just to ensure that the series is continued to play in pretty good spirit.

“I thought it was pretty good last game after the couple of isolated incidents in the first Test match and just to make sure cricket is still the winner.

“I might have a chat to him around what’s gone on (involving Rabada).

“Obviously, they’ve deemed the contact not to be deliberate and set the line in the sand of what is appropriate and what’s not.

“We’ll see what he has to say.”

Qantas tour of South Africa

South Africa squad: Faf du Plessis (c), Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma, Theunis de Bruyn, Dean Elgar, Heinrich Klaasen, Quinton de Kock, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Morne Morkel, Chris Morris, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Duanne Olivier, Vernon Philander, Kagiso Rabada, AB de Villiers.

Australia squad: Steve Smith (c), David Warner (vc), Cameron Bancroft, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Jon Holland, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine, Jhye Richardson, Chadd Sayers, Mitchell Starc.

Warm-up match: Australia beat South Africa A by five wickets. Report, highlights

First Test Australia won by 118 runs. Scorecard

Second Test South Africa won by six wickets. Scorecard

Third Test Newlands, Cape Town, March 22-26. Live coverage

Fourth Test Wanderers, Johannesburg, March 30-April 3. Live coverage