The controversy between the South Africa and Australia refuses to die down, with South Africa spearhead Vernon Philander taking to Twitter to accuse Smith of initiating the shoulder contact with Kagiso Rabada. Philander went on to say that Smith gave the shoulder to Rabada and is ‘just as guilty’ as the fast bowler. However, Philander was quick to backtrack and deleted the tweet, claiming his account was hacked.
Rabada was suspended for the next two Test matches after being found guilty of a Level 2 ICC Code of Conduct offence of ‘inappropriate and deliberate physical contact with a player’.
Philander, who played the match in question, had also took a dig at the Australian skipper in the tweet stating that Smith could have avoided contact and it seemed that Smith could have tried ‘some football skills to get a penalty’.
Rabada received a fine of 50 per cent of his match fee and three demerit points after a disciplinary hearing following his denial of the charge.
Rabada has accumulated eight demerit points within a 24-month period, automatically leading to a two-match suspension. The incident happened in the 52nd over of Australia’s first innings of the second Test, when moving towards the slips, Rabada made contact with Steve Smith with his shoulder.
The 22-year-old accepted a second charge under 2.1.7 of the code – using language, actions or gestures which could provoke an aggressive reaction from a batsman upon his or her dismissal. He received a further 15% fine of his match fee and an additional demerit point bringing his total to nine.
But the the fast bowler has appealed the guilty verdict.
“ICC confirms that Kagiso Rabada has appealed against the level two breach following the incident with Steve Smith during the Port Elizabeth Test. ICC will now appoint a Judicial Commissioner at the earliest opportunity and hearing details will be confirmed in due course,” the governing body said on Wednesday.
Although there was contact made with Smith, Rabada maintains that it was accidental and at the time he was not even aware he had brushed against his opponent.
“If I knew I did it deliberately, I wouldn’t have gone to contest (the charge),” Rabada told reporters after the game. “I didn’t even feel contact in that moment because I was so pumped up.”