Former Australian legend Shane Warne and West Indian all-rounder Marlon Samuels were involved in an on-field feud in the Big Bash League that later exploded into something nasty as time went on.
In this piece below we look at what transpired between Warne and Samuels and if matters cooled off in the end.
When did the Warne-Samuels feud happen?
The Warne-Samuels feud happened during the Melbourne derby at the 2012-13 Big Bash League. The Big Bash League, or the BBL, is a T20 tournament played between eight of the Australian domestic teams.
This incident occurred on the January 6, 2013 match between Melbourne Stars and Melbourne Renegades in front of more than 46,000 spectators at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Who were involved in this fight between Warne and Samuels?
The main players involved in this spat were Stars skipper Shane Warne and Renegades overseas player Marlon Samuels. David Hussey was also a part with Samuels having earlier stalled him while he was running between the wickets.
Samuels was batting with Renegades skipper Aaron Finch when the incident occurred.
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What exactly transpired between Warne and Samuels?
The issue started in the ninth over of the Renegades chase when Samuels pushed at a Warne delivery to the off-side and took off for a single. He was sent back to his crease by his non-striker, Aaron Finch but as he was returning, Warne gave him a mouthful.
Surprised, Samuels turned back and saw a finger-wagging Warne charge at him in anger, warning him not to hold his players while they were running between the wickets.
This was in retaliation to what Samuels had done during the Stars innings, pulling David Hussey by his shirt as he went for a second run.
Not to be outdone, Warne pulled Samuels’ jersey but the West Indies was having none of it and showed no remorse over his own actions earlier.
Warne, who was mic-ed up at the time by the host broadcaster, belted out at Samuels:
“You want to grab some more people? F*** you Marlon.”
This contest continued in the following over even as fast bowler Clint McKay ran into bowl. Off the third ball of the 10th over, Warne threw a ball back at Samuels and once it had hit him, the angry West Indian slammed his bat in the direction of Warne.
Samuels would go on to hit three more boundaries after that including one off the following over from Warne but that was where his innings would end. Off a Lasith Malinga bouncer, Samuels ended up top-edging a pull on to his helmet grill and received a cut on his face as a result.
The Renegades would go on to win the match though, cruising to a nine-wicket victory and making it to the semifinal of that edition of the BBL. The Stars also made the semifinal but both the Melbourne sides crashed out of the tournament in the semis.
Check out the video of the Warne-Samuels spat at the MCG in the BBL 2012-13 below:
How did the BBL react to the Warne-Samuels fight?
The Big Bash League was quick to respond, fining Warne A$4,500 for the offence and banning him for one game. He was found guilty of making “inappropriate and deliberate physical contact” other than using language that was considered obscene and offensive.
Samuels faced charges of “unbecoming behaviour” because of his bat-throwing antics and making inappropriate and deliberate physical contact as well.
Warne considered appealing the judgement but decided against it and went on to tweet:
“I have always been passionate when I play cricket and had the game at heart along with its image…I’m disappointed at some of my actions last night as captain & as a player, but I’m also very disappointed at the severe penalty I received!”
Did the duo resolve their differences?
Safe to say, based on the information in the open, Warne and Samuels never resolved their differences. If anything, things went from bad to worse with the duo taking digs at each other on social media as well.
At the end of the 2016 T20 World Cup in India where West Indies defeated England to lift the cup, Samuels was named the man-of-the-match in the final for his 66-ball 85.
In his post-match interview with the journalists, Samuels walked into the room, sat down and then put his legs on the table. And in a response to a question related to Ben Stokes, he brought Warne into the picture too.
He said:
“I played a Test series in Australia and everything that Shane Warne has a problem with me, I don’t what because I have never disrespected him. Seems like he has a lot inside him that he needs to come out.”
“I don’t appreciate the way he continue to talk about me. And the things that he keeps doing. I don’t know, may be because my face is real and his face is not.”
In 2020, Warne took exception to a tweet from Samuels spitting venom against Ben Stokes. In response to a Samuels comment on Stokes’ skin colour and his wife, Warne said:
I’ve just been sent what Samuels has posted re Ben Stokes & I. It’s a very sad situation as he obviously needs serious help-but has no friends at all & not even his ex teammates like him. Just because you were an ordinary cricketer-no need to be an ordinary person. Get help son.
Samuels retorted:
“Haha I need help is this coming from the first cricketer to do a face surgery to look young.”
He went on to post an imaginary conversation between Warne and the doctor:
“Doc, can I use the skin from my belly doc no warny mate we must use the skin from you’re a** batty face boy calm down.”
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Is Marlon Samuels a controversial figure?
Marlon Samuels was a Jamaican and West Indian cricketer who had also captained the Windies side in the 50-overs format. He retired from professional cricket in June 2020.
Earlier, Samuels had been banned for two years by the ICC in 2008 for “receiving money, or benefit or other reward that could bring him or the game of cricket into disrepute” but he maintained he had done nothing wrong.
Samuels would return to guide West Indies to a World T20 Cup 2012 title win with a fluent knock in the final against Sri Lanka.
He was then charged with another ICC anti-corruption code breach and this time it came while taking part in the 2019 Abu Dhabi T10 League. Two years, Samuels was found guilty of four anti-corruption charges.
Other than this, Samuels has also been reported for a suspect bowling action on multiple occasions. His bowling has been deemed to be illegal.
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