Kagiso Rabada ban is just not cricket

“It’s just not cricket.” That’s the phrase which summed up the stiff upper lip approach to life of the upper class English of yore. It was simply frightly bad form to make a fuss … about anything.

Celebrating an achievement with anything more than a polite hand clap was bordering on uncivilised, wasn’t it? Just not the done thing, don’t you know…

Despite the fact that we’re now well into the 21st century and despite the fact that cricket has long since been made an international game, the old stuffy traditions still lurk behind the scenes at the International Cricket Council (ICC), rather like a ghost at the banquet.

So it wasn’t really surprising to see Kagiso Rabada hit with a one-point demerit yesterday after celebrating in a very un-traditional way when he took the wicket of England skipper Joe Root after a long, toiling session on a lifeless pitch the day before.

However, it is now (shock! horror!) the fourth time in two years that the Proteas bowler has “misbehaved”, so he has been banned from playing in the fourth Test at the Wanderers next week.

Former England captains Mike Atherton and Michael Vaughan came to the defence of the bowler.

Atherton said: “He’s not swearing at the batsman. He’s not abusing the batsman.” Vaughan called the ban “absolutely bonkers”, adding “Celebrate a wicket and you are banned … Do we really want high class players missing a Test for celebrating?”

We are not condoning loutish behaviour – and sledging sometimes does go too far – but there must be room for passion and aggression in cricket’s five-day format, if it is to survive.

The game must never become a soap opera – but cricket needs to entertain … and human emotion is always key to good entertainment.

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