Pollock urges restraint from Rabada

Former South Africa captain Shaun Pollock has suggested the Proteas might consider some strategic field placings to keep fast bowler Kagiso Rabada on the straight and narrow now that his disciplinary ban has been overturned and he’s free to play in tomorrow’s third Test.

While Pollock’s claim – that South Africa employ a permanent short-leg fielder when Rabada is bowling to shepherd him away from rival batters and potential trouble when he claims a wicket – was tongue-in-cheek, he admits the challenge facing the fiery quick is all-too real.

While the downgrading (on appeal) of the charge against the 22-year-old from a level two offence of making deliberate and avoidable contact with an opponent to the lesser level one charge of conduct contrary to the spirit of cricket, he still incurred one demerit point for his clash with Australia captain Steve Smith.

As a result, Rabada enters the third match of the Qantas Tour of South Africa at Newlands starting tomorrow with seven accumulated demerit points against his name, meaning he remains just one indiscretion away from copping the two-Test ban incurred when a player racks up eight points.

Pollock, himself a former fast bowler who is South Africa’s leading Test wicket-taker with 421 and led his country in 26 Tests, said it was time for a senior teammate to have word with the outstanding young talent to ensure that his exuberance does not land him in further trouble.

“I think you need to get in his ear and say ‘down the line, when you look back at this Test series let’s have it being remembered for your bowling performances,” Pollock told Melbourne radio station RSN927 today, before adding further possible advice for Rabada.

“Hopefully those performances take you on to win the series against Australia rather than being remembered as a series that goes awry, and we need to look at the fact that you’ve made some bad decisions after picking up wickets, with your celebrations.”

Pollock said he did not believe that Rabada, reinstated as the world’s top-ranked Test bowler after his player-of-the-match performance against Australia in last week’s second Test at Port Elizabeth, would lose any of his passion or his intimidatory presence if he toned his wicket celebrations.

But it has been the manner in which he has shown his delight at claiming wickets and the proximity to the dismissed batter in which he’s done it that has brought him an already lengthy disciplinary record just 28 Tests into his already outstanding career.

“The point is that so much has been made of it over the last few days, if it hasn’t got through now then I’d have to worry,” Pollock said.

“He’s an intelligent guy and I’m sure he has worked it out for himself, and eventually he has to understand that there’s no more that it can happen.

“I don’t think he’ll back off.

“His commitment and his passion is always there, and his hostility is part and parcel of the nature of his bowling.

“So I don’t think he’ll lose that part.

“It might almost be a good plan to get someone at short leg for the rest of the Test series, so that every time he gets a wicket they can step in and lead him in a different direction.

“That might be the plan, but I don’t think it will affect his actual bowling performance.

“I think he’ll still be motivated, and you might see him keeping his eye focussed on the other South African players rather than the batsman he just got out.”

Pollock admitted he was “not too hopeful” when he learned Cricket South Africa would challenge the initial level two charge brought against Rabada and upheld by ICC match referee Jeff Crowe, which initially meant he would miss the final two Tests in Cape Town and Johannesburg.

But now that the Proteas’ spearhead has escaped sanction after that penalty was overturned by Judicial Commissioner Mike Heron QC (like Crowe, from New Zealand), Rabada must show he has accepted the fact his on-field behavior must change.

And the fact that Rabada was booked for breaching the Code of Conduct with his celebration in the face of Australia vice-captain David Warner 48 hours after he had been cited for making contact with Smith suggested the message was taking some time to sink in.

“He has got off the hook and it’s a major plus for South Africa because of the way that he bowled in that second Test,” Pollock said.

“We all know that to be a fast bowler you need to have a certain amount of passion, and a certain amount of stupidity I suppose, to go with it.

“To keep running in, ball after ball when it’s flat and those kind of things.

“But he has got into trouble a couple of times with that passion, and by now he should have worked out there’s things that he can and can’t do.

“He was pulled over the coals for what he did in the Steve Smith incident, and then the next day he was in trouble again for the Warner one.

“So if he’s not going to learn his lesson now it will be a bit disappointing, because if it’s a monetary fine and he loses out on some money it’s not so bad.

“But when he lets the team down and he has to miss games, then that wouldn’t be what we want from him as a player.

“I think he will learn now.

“He has to, he’s on the seven (demerit) points and any misdemeanor and he’ll miss two matches, so he’s living on the edge.”

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