Fit again after a hamstring tear, the Proteas quick says there's no bad blood with Australia as he heads back to the scene of his Smith clash.
Kagiso Rabada is heading home to Gqeberha, and he insists the ghosts of 2018 won't be waiting for him. The South African spearhead returns to St George's Park, where his heated run-in with Australia's Steve Smith played out six years ago, and says there is no lingering animosity.
Rabada has been cleared to play the second Test after recovering from a hamstring tear. It will be his first match since May, and it comes at a pivotal moment for the Proteas. The hosts are battling to keep the series alive after a crushing 214-run defeat in Durban last week.
Looking back on the 2018 flashpoint, Rabada played it down as the product of a fiery series between two competitive sides, with plenty of testosterone on show. In his telling, that was cricket in the moment, not a feud that has followed him since. There is no hate, he says.
Whatever the mood between the camps, South Africa need their frontline quick back in the attack. With the series on the line and Australia in front, Rabada's pace and hunger could decide whether the Proteas hit back in Gqeberha or fall further behind.
