Let’s hope cricket is centre stage

South Africa against Australia Test cricket series are always hard-fought affairs. There is never a shortage of intensity when the two nations meet on the cricket pitch.

The current four-match Test series is no different with it delicately poised at 1-1 after two Tests. Australia, thanks in large to speedster Mitchell Starc, were too good in Durban as the visitors drew first blood with a 118-run win, while the home side squared the series in Port Elizabeth with a six-wicket win with a fired-up fast bowler Kagiso Rabada leading the way.

As good as the cricket has been, it’s sad that the series has made headlines for all the wrong reasons. A verbal spat between David Warner and Quinton de Kock during the Durban Test boiled over, while Rabada’s “shoulder brush” on Steve Smith in Port Elizabeth copped him a two-Test ban, which was later overturned this week.

The decision to overturn the Rabada ban is still drawing mixed reactions, depending on which team you support. However, it is fantastic for the series, and the sport as a whole, that Rabada, the No 1-ranked bowler in the world, will bowl to Smith, the No 1 batsman in the world, in Cape Town for the third Test – starting today – with the series on the line.

Is it too much to ask for this Newlands Test to solely be remembered for the cricket?

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