Shane Warne
might have played his last game of this Big Bash League campaign after
being suspended for one match following his ugly clash with Marlon Samuels
on Sunday night. Warne, the Melbourne Stars captain, was also fined
$4500 following the fracas in the derby against the Melbourne Renegades
at the MCG, while Samuels is yet to face his hearing after also being
charged over the incidents.
Warne was charged with four breaches of Cricket Australia's Code of
Behaviour and found guilty of three; Samuels was charged with two
offences. Warne's suspension means he will miss the Stars' last
qualifying match at home to the Sydney Thunder on Tuesday and his
chances of taking any further part in the tournament will hinge on
whether his side, which is one of four sides locked together on four
wins in the middle of the points table, reaches the finals.
Warne confronted Samuels physically and verbally during the Melbourne
Renegades innings at the MCG, seemingly in retaliation for an incident
that had occurred earlier during the Melbourne Stars innings. During
that incident, the bowler Samuels grabbed David Hussey by the shirt and
prevented him taking off for a second run, a strange act given that
Hussey's path had not taken him into contact with Samuels.
Later while Samuels was batting, he took off for a run and turned back,
after which Warne came down the pitch and said to Samuels: "You want to
grab some more people? F*** you Marlon." Warne, who was wearing a Fox
Sports microphone at the time, then grabbed Samuels' shirt, apparently
to demonstrate what he felt Samuels had done wrong earlier, and pointed
at him threateningly.
The clash continued in the next over when Warne collected the ball
running in from the off side and under-armed it into the body of
Samuels, who was in his crease not attempting a run. Samuels responded
by tossing his bat down the pitch, vaguely in the direction of Warne.
On Monday morning, Cricket Australia confirmed a long list of charges
from the incidents. Warne was found guilty of three: showing serious
dissent at an umpire's decision; engaging in inappropriate and
deliberate physical contact with another player; and using obscene,
offensive or generally insulting language to another player. He was
found not guilty of throwing the ball at or near a player in an
inappropriate and/or dangerous manner.
After the hearing, Warne indicated that he would consider appealing the
suspension, but later in the day he decided to accept his ban and hoped
the Stars reached the finals. In a series of tweets, Warne also
expressed disappointment at his own actions.
"I have always been passionate when I play cricket and had the game at
heart along with its image..." he tweeted. "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!"
Samuels has been charged with engaging in inappropriate and deliberate
physical contact with another player; and unbecoming behaviour, namely
that "players and officials must not at any time engage in behaviour
unbecoming to a representative player or official that could (a) bring
them or the game of cricket into disrepute or (b) be harmful to the
interests of cricket".
However, Samuels ended the match with a potentially serious injury to
his eye socket after he top-edged a Lasith Malinga delivery through the
grille of his helmet, and any suspension may not affect his availability
anyway. The Renegades coach Simon Helmot said Samuels was recovering at
the team hotel and would be taking some time off to care for his
injury, and a time for his hearing is yet to be confirmed by Cricket
Australia.
"We're now waiting for the swelling around his eye to subside before
determining the full extent of the blow," Helmot said. "We are also
assessing what, if anything, this means in terms of squad composition
for the remainder of the tournament and will take action to source an
international replacement if necessary."
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