Kagiso Rabada to miss fourth Test after Joe Root celebration

Nicholas McGee

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Kagiso Rabada to miss fourth Test after Joe Root celebration image

Kagiso Rabada will miss the fourth Test between South Africa and England after receiving a demerit point for his celebration of Joe Root's wicket on day one of the third Test.

Rabada was also fined 15 per cent of his match fee after being found guilty of a Level 1 breach of the ICC's code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel.

The seamer beat the England captain for pace to dismiss Root for 27 in Port Elizabeth, reducing England to 148-4.

Rabada roared in celebration while just a matter of inches away from Root and was ruled to have violated Article 2.5 of the Code of Conduct, relating to "using language, actions or gestures which disparage or which could provoke an aggressive reaction from a batter upon his or her dismissal during an international match".

Andy Pycroft of the ICC Elite Panel of Match referees proposed the sanction, which was accepted by Rabada, meaning a formal hearing was not needed.

Rabada now has four demerit points in a 24-month period and as a result will be unavailable for the final match of the series at the Wanderers, which starts on January 24.

This enraged former England skipper Michael Vaughan, who took to social media to lash out at the 'bonkers' decision.

"Rabada getting a 1 game ban for celebrating taking the Wicket of the opponents best player is absolutely bonkers," he said.

"Over rates & slow play nothing gets done,

"Celebrate a wicked and you are banned.

"The World is bloody nuts."

The series is level at 1-1, with England claiming victory in Cape Town having lost the opener in Centurion.

Nicholas McGee