Kolkata: West Indies cricketer Marlon Samuels is a clever assassin who waits for the correct moment to attack his prey. The 35-year-old never shared a healthy rapport with former Australia leg-spinner Shane Warne. On Sunday, after winning the ICC World Twenty20 title for the second time, he dedicated his Man of the Match award to Warne.
The duo ran into each other during a Big Bash League fixture in 2013. Warne had hit Samuels with the ball while the latter, in retaliation, threw his bat towards the Aussie.
“Warne always had a problem with me. I don’t appreciate what he says; I answer with the bat and not the mic,” said Samuels, who toyed with the England bowlers throughout his innings.
“I don’t know the reasons behind the problem, maybe because my face is real and his is not,” he added.
Ben Stokes, who was at the receiving end of Carlos Brathwaite’s onslaught (four sixes in a row) in the last over, had earlier sledged Samuels during a bilateral series.
“People tell Ben not to speak to me but he doesn’t learn,” said Samuels about the English all-rounder.
Brathwaite – Pollard’s substitute?
“When we were missing Kieron Pollard in the team, I said Brathwaite will be the player to watch out for,” said West Indies skipper Darren Sammy after the World T20 victory.
“There is a reason why Brathwaite was bought in the IPL (by Delhi Daredevils for Rs 4.2 crore),” added Sammy.
Sammy also described the moment in the dugout when West Indies needed 19 off six deliveries to win the trophy.
“After he hit the first six over backward square leg, we were like ‘come on, one more hit’. And then, he cleared the long-on,” chuckled Sammy.
Before the final, Sammy had taken a dig at journalist Mark Nicholas for calling the West Indies team ‘brainless’.
After the triumph, he repeated how the “so called experts and journalists” and their own cricket board didn’t inspire much confidence.
“We have players like Chris Gayle, Andre Russell, Samuel Badree, Dwayne Bravo – anybody can come up with a performance any moment. We are not a one man team. As a T20 unit, we are here to entertain. But now that the tournament is over, we have to talk to the board and sort out issues,” Sammy added.
“As of now, I am done with Nicholas,” Sammy concluded.
