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Samuels taunts Warne after World T20 win

3rd April, 2016
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Marlon Samuels smashed West Indies to an incredible World Twenty20 final win over England then teed off at Shane Warne with even more vigour.

Samuels finished 85 not out from 66 balls on Sunday, helping West Indies haul in their target of 156 after they’d slumped to 3-11 in the Kolkata decider.

The veteran, who has had a running battle with Warne since an ugly confrontation during a Big Bash League match in 2013, dedicated his man-of-the-match award to the Australian icon.

“I played a Test series in Australia (recently) and every day, Shane Warne has a problem with me,” Samuels told reporters.

“I’ve never disrespected him.

“I don’t know. Maybe because my face is real and his face is not?”

Samuels’ spray followed a superb display of pressure-laden power hitting from Carlos Brathwaite, who finished the match with two balls to spare by clubbing four consecutive sixes off Ben Stokes after needing 19 runs off the final over.

Brathwaite’s fourth blow was downright insulting, coming when his side needed one run from three balls but the heaving Eden Gardens crowd demanded more.

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The allrounder’s salvo meant West Indies finished 6-161 in response to England’s 9-155.

The squad almost spilled onto the field prematurely after Brathwaite’s third six before finally sprinting out.

Wild scenes followed.

They danced the ‘champion’ dance as Dwayne Bravo’s song boomed, while the Windies women’s team joined in as they continued their own celebrations having beaten Australia in the curtain-raiser.

They danced through a lap of honour but captain Darren Sammy got serious in the post-match ceremony, speaking emotionally about how his team had been “disrespected” by their own cricket board.

Samuels was less graceful on the dais.

“Shane Warne has been talking continuously and all I want to say is ‘this (man-of-the-match award) is for Shane Warne’,” the veteran said.

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“I answer with the bat and not the mic.”

Except Samuels couldn’t help himself in front of the microphones,

He sat down for the post-match press conference, leaned back then planted his feet on the table and gave it to Warne.

“I don’t appreciate the way he continues to talk to about me,” the 35-year-old said.

“Seems as if he has a lot inside him that he needs to come out.”

The legendary legspinner described Samuels’ dismissal in the World T20 semi as “embarrassing” and “pretty poor” and was similarly critical during the 2015-16 Test series in Australia.

This time around, Warne congratulated Samuels on Twitter.

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Samuels also fired some barbs at Stokes, who he has rowed with in the past.

“Stokes is a nervous lad, isn’t he? I told Brathwaite … he’s going to bowl a couple of full tosses. As always,” Samuels said.

“And it worked in our favour.

“He (Stokes) doesn’t learn.”

England captain Eoin Morgan felt for the flame-haired allrounder.

“He is going to be devastated .. it is cruel,” Morgan said.

“We share the pain, share the success.

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“I can’t fault anything we did with the ball or in the field tonight .. we let ourselves down tremendously with the bat.”

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