Six of cricket's most bitter feuds

04 April 2016 03:24

Sunday's ICC World Twenty20 final saw the continuation of a running feud between West Indies batsman Marlon Samuels and England all-rounder Ben Stokes.

Samuels hit 85 not out from 66 balls before watching from the non-striker's end as Stokes, the man whose dismissal he memorably saluted in last year's Test series in the Caribbean, was taken for four straight sixes by Carlos Brathwaite to seal the Windies' four-wicket win.

Here, Press Association Sport looks at some of cricket's other bitter rivalries - starting with a familiar face.

MARLON SAMUELS v SHANE WARNE

Stokes is a relative newcomer in the sights of a man who admits confrontation is "what I thrive on". The bad blood between Samuels and Warne dates back to the 2012-13 Big Bash League and an ugly on-field confrontation which began with an exchange of words and spiralled as Warne's throw struck Samuels. The West Indian threw his bat down the wicket and Warne circled his hand beside his head in a "you're crazy" gesture. The former Australia spinner has continued to criticise Samuels while commentating, including in the World T20 semi-final, and Samuels responded by collecting the man of the match trophy in the final and announcing: "This is for Shane Warne."

IAN BOTHAM v IAN CHAPPELL

Even Samuels has a way to go to match the enduring hostility between the great Ashes rivals. Botham reacted angrily when, playing in Australia on a youth scholarship, he heard Chappell bragging in a bar of Australia's superiority over England and responded by punching him, knocking him over a table and then chasing after him outside where he hurdled the bonnet of a car to continue the pursuit. The feud has not dimmed over the years, with the pair reportedly almost coming to blows in the Adelaide Oval car park during the 2010-11 Ashes.

KEVIN PIETERSEN v ANDREW STRAUSS

Even within the same team, disagreements can take hold. Pietersen admitted sending "provocative" texts about his then captain Strauss to opposing South Africa players in 2012, a key factor when his often controversial England career was ended by the England and Wales Cricket board shortly after the 2013-14 Ashes tour. Strauss had graduated to the role of ECB director by 2015 and had the decisive say when Pietersen responded to speculation over a possible international recall by scoring a triple-century for Surrey - a "massive trust issue" meant the door stayed firmly closed on Pietersen.

HAROLD LARWOOD v DON BRADMAN

Larwood was the foremost weapon in England captain Douglas Jardine's "Bodyline" attack during the tempestuous 1933 Ashes series, with Bradman Australia's star batsman. Beyond the battery of fast-paced bowling, there were also other disputes - Larwood believed Bradman had edged him to the keeper before getting off the mark in his then world record 334 at Headingley in a previous series in 1930, a claim he repeated in the press as late at 1980, when Bradman responded by claiming he did not make contact with the ball that saw him caught behind at the Oval in that series and also claimed Larwood sometimes "threw" the ball with an illegal bent-elbow action.

MIKE GATTING v SHAKOOR RANA

The famous picture showing Gatting furiously jabbing his finger towards the umpire, during the second Test of England's 1989 series against Pakistan in Faisalabad, came about after Rana accused the England captain of moving fielder David Capel without the batsman's knowledge - Gatting insisted he had informed Salim Malik. Rana refused to resume play until Gatting apologised, causing a full day to be lost from the Test. Gatting admitted in 2010 that " It still rankles", but added: "In some ways it was good for cricket because neutral umpires came in immediately after that episode."

DARRELL HAIR v MUTTIAH MURALITHARAN, DARRELL HAIR v PAKISTAN

The Australian umpire received death threats after he repeatedly no-balled Muralitharan for throwing in 1995 but he continued to question the Sri Lanka spinner's action until the end of Muralitharan's career. Hair was at the centre of controversy again in 2006 when he accused Pakistan's players of ball-tampering during a Test against England at the Oval. Pakistan refused to play on and the Test was forfeited. Following the spot-fixing scandal that wrecked the 2010 Lord's Test against England and eventually saw three Pakistan players jailed, Hair told the Observer he felt vindicated and said: "The Pakistan cricketers show no respect for the game and continually attempt to cheat."

Source: PA