Cape Town: Steve Smith has taken the International Cricket Council to task with an emphatic smack down of the decision to lift Kagiso Rabada's ban, indicating there was now a danger that that physical contact between players could become open slather.

In a strong pre-match missive that set the scene for another fiery encounter at Newlands, the Australian captain also questioned why he had not been called as a witness to the appeal hearing, given he was the player on the receiving end of Rabada's mid-pitch bump with his shoulder in Port Elizabeth.

Back in action: South Africa spearhead Kagiso Rabada is free to play after he successfully appealed his ban. Credit:AP

He sympathised with match referee Jeff Crowe, who he said had every right to be "annoyed", and slammed a claim on Vernon Philander's social media account that he had staged the incident.

Smith said he would not be instructing his fast bowlers to follow Rabada's example as a result of the backflip but left no doubt about the potential ramifications of the decision as he sees them.