SA vs AUS 2018: We All Make Stupid Mistakes at 22 - Dale Steyn on Kagiso Rabada

Proteas pacer Dale Steyn has backed his teammate Kagiso Rabada saying everybody makes mistakes at this age.

ICC recently banned Rabada from the remainder of the Test series against Australia after he earned eight demerit points.

In the second Test, Rabada made shoulder contact with Smith after dismissing him in the first innings. This incident led to Kagiso Rabada’s suspension from the ongoing series against the Aussies. Rabada has since appealed the decision to ICC.

ICC match referee Jeff Crowe found Rabada guilty of a Level 2 offence for “inappropriate and deliberate physical contact with a player”. He also received three demerit points and a fine of 50% of his match fee.

We all made stupid mistakes:

Steyn backed Rabada saying he was responsible for edging on the young tearaway just a bit too much. Further, he cited his mistakes as a young cricketer to back his teammate and said that he would learn from this.

“I bloody well hope not!” Steyn remarked. “But I am not going to say I called it, but you can clearly see that when KG is fired up, and he has the bit between his teeth we can see what he is capable of. We also remember he is 22. We all make stupid mistakes when we 22. It doesn’t matter how many cricket matches he has played, how many wickets he takes. He is still 22. We can’t be upset about that.”

“I was shit scared of guys like Kallis, Boucher, Ray Jennings! But he is way better than I was when I was 22. Maybe this needed to happen for him to learn a bit quicker. I did stupid things when I was younger. I spat in the direction of Sulieman Benn. We all make these mistakes,” he said to Independent Media.

Won’t rush back to cricket:

Dale Steyn’s heart may be burning to get back on the field, but he is not going to rush his comeback to Test cricket.

However, it seemed like Steyn would return in the third Test against Australia, but he does not want to push his body in fear of aggravating the injury any further.

“I could have played a four-day game this week. Physically I am fine. The shoulder is phenomenal; I am bowling I am just not playing. The problem as a fast bowler I need to land on that front foot of mine. Putting eight or nine times my body weight on that front foot of mine, it can only handle so much.

“People are saying ‘it is so disappointing that you can’t play the four-day game’ but what would be worse is playing the game and walking off with another injury. That speaks for the Test matches too. I can’t imagine another Test match where I need to walk off halfway because my foot is just a little bruised.

“I can’t let my teammates down or my country for that matter. It has happened a couple of times now. We are pushing for that fourth Test,” Steyn concluded.

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