Samuels stokes fire before ODIs
West Indies all-rounder Marlon Samuels has warned his long-time rival Ben Stokes that the Englishman should either keep a leash on his actions or get ready to face an ugly run-in when the two sides meet during the limited-over series later this month.
“With me coming to England, he should stay on the boundary when I’m batting, as far away as possible,” Samuels told The Guardian. “As long as he keeps quiet, I won’t start anything, so if anything does happen that means he has said something to me first. I’m going to come to England and be a good boy … at least for the start of it.
“He wanted to take me on a couple of years ago (in the Test where Samuels offered the infamous salute). He started something and I told him he better be prepared to finish it. But I saw him during the IPL this year and he didn’t say anything. I hope he can continue on that path. If not, I have things in place.”
Things have been pretty sour between the two all-rounders ever since Stokes received a salute after being dismissed in the Grenada Test in April 2015.
The two then had a go at each other again at the T20I World Cup final in Kolkata, where West Indies emerged champions after Stokes was hammered for four consecutive sixes in the last over by Carlos Brathwaite with 19 required to win.
At the post-match press conference, Samuels had taunted Stokes and said, “Well, he doesn’t learn. I didn’t even face a ball and he had so much to say to me that I knew I had to be right there at the end... again. That’s what I thrive on. Stokes is a nervous laddie, so what I told Brathwaite was to just hold his pose and he’s going to bowl a couple of full tosses --- as always --- and it will work in our favour. People were writing off the players but they are young, hungry and showing fight by winning a Test in tough conditions,” Samuels added.
“West Indies are not on top and playing the best but the media is too critical, they need to give these youngsters a chance because not every player starts out at the top of their game. In history there are greats who started slow, and players who started fast and never last.”