“He feels he has let down the team”

Image courtesy of: Zimbio

South Africa pace bowler Kagiso Rabada is “heartbroken” after being banned for the second Test against England, according to team-mate Temba Bavuma.

Rabada was suspended for the match after he told England all-rounder Ben Stokes to “f**k off” upon dismissing him on the opening day of the first Test at Lord’s.

Rabada was fined 15 per cent of his match fee and given a demerit point, which was his fourth in 2017. As a result, he was banned for one Test.

“KG is quite an emotional character,” Bavuma said. “The way he acted – he didn’t act like that on purpose. He was aware of the consequences. It was just in the heat of the moment. He is quite heartbroken as he feels he has let down the team.”

Delving deeper into the issue of sledging, Bavuma said: “It’s something I have had to endure from schoolboy cricket days. I see it as part and parcel of cricket.

“There’s a fine balance that needs to be achieved. You don’t want it to be completely taken away but you still want the respect of the game to be there. A balance needs to be achieved.”

Weighing in on the incident, England seamer James Anderson hinted that the International Cricket Council (ICC) did the right thing in taking action against Rabada.

“There is obviously a line that the ICC have drawn and we need to stay on the right side of it,” he said. “When I watch games, I like having the stump mic there. It’s the players’ duty to be aware that is there and they turn it up quite loud sometimes.”

The second Test between England and South Africa will get underway on July 14 in Nottingham.