Shane Warne has responded to Marlon Samuels’ extraordinary tirade against him and Ben Stokes by suggesting the West Indies cricketer ‘has no friends at all in the sport’.
Samuels sparked outrage by calling Warne and Stokes ‘b****’ and boasting of his ‘f***ing superior skin tone’ in a series of racist Instagram posts, as well as making a disparaging remark about Stokes’s wife Clare.
In comments directed at Stokes, he wrote: ‘Give me 14 days with your wife turn har [sic] into Jamaican in 14 seconds mate.’
His remarks came after the England all-rounder joked he wouldn’t wish two weeks of Covid-19 quarantine on his ‘worst enemy’ – even Samuels.
Samuels has clashed with both Stokes and Warne on the cricket field in the past and the bad blood has continued.
Ben Stokes had joked that he wouldn’t wish two weeks of Covid-19 quarantine on his ‘worst enemy’ – even Marlon Samuels. In response, the West Indian cricketer made derogatory remarks about Stokes and his wife Clare in racist Instagram posts
In one foul-mouthed Instagram post, Samuels described Stokes and former Australian cricketer Shane Warne as ‘b****’
Samuels (right) and Stokes (left) have previous from the cricket field – Samuels saluted Stokes as he left the field during a 2015 Test match between West Indies and England in Grenada
Samuels made derogatory remarks about Stokes’s wife Clare during a series of posts
Now Warne has responded to Samuels’ remarks in a Twitter post, saying: ‘I’ve just been sent what Samuels has posted re @benstokes.
‘It’s a very sad situation as he obviously needs serious help – but has no friends at all & not even his ex teammates like him.
‘Just because you were an ordinary cricketer – no need to be an ordinary person. Get help son.’
During the second edition of the Big Bash League in 2013, the pair squared up when Warne took exception to Samuels appearing to hold the shirt of batsman David Hussey as he was about to go for a second run.
Later in the contest, when Warne was bowling and Samuels batting, the Aussie went up to him and aggressively pulled on his shirt while shouting: ‘|Want to grab some more people? F*** you mate,’ which was picked up on a live TV microphone.
Warne, seen here confronting Samuels in a 2013 Big Bash game in Australia, was called a ‘b****’ by Samuels in the Instagram tirade and has responded on Twitter
The former Australia spinner urged Samuels to ‘get help’ and claimed that he ‘has no friends’
Warne further provoked Samuels by throwing the ball towards his torso while fielding at short cover, with Samuels then throwing his bat in Warne’s direction in response.
After retirement, Warne moved to the commentary box and has been critical of Samuels on a number of occasions.
Stokes also appeared to hit back at Samuels but posting a set of pictures of the West Indian on his Instagram stories account.
They included pictures of Samuels squaring up to himself and Warne on the cricket field and various other images from Samuels’ career.
Stokes hit back by posting a series of photographs of Samuels in action on his Instagram
One of the pictures Stokes posted was of him being saluted off the field by Samuels
It came after a series of bizarre Instagram posts earlier this week when Samuels took aim at Stokes.
‘No white boy can diss me in the sports and no [sic] get diss back,’ Samuels wrote, before calling Stokes a ‘b****’.
WARNING – Video contains offensive language
Samuels, who was playing for the Melbourne Renegades, threw his bat in Warne’s direction during the 2013 clash after the Aussie fielded a ball that hit him in the chest
Later in the outburst, after the derogatory remark about Stokes’s wife, Samuels says ‘it’s my f***ing superior skin tone y’all hate, f*** you.’
In a later Instagram post, Samuels, 39, had a pop at Stokes and former Australian spinner Warne, also calling him ‘b****’ while promoting his ‘Sextillion 7th Power’ perfume range.
Samuels also posted a number of supportive messages from fans and also a recording of a message supposedly sent to him from an English cricket coach in which advice was sought on how to avoid ‘Ben Stokes syndrome’ of getting out early.
Some of the offensive posts were later deleted by Samuels.
Samuels continued his tirade against Stokes in another Instagram post, recalling how he saluted the England batsmen after he was dismissed at Grenada in 2015
It came in response to a joke by Stokes about not wishing two weeks of quarantine on his ‘worst enemy’ Samuels.
Stokes, 29, was forced to quarantine for two weeks as a Covid-19 precaution after travelling from New Zealand to the United Arab Emirates before joining up with Indian Premier League team Rajasthan Royals.
Stokes told the BBC Test Match Special podcast: ‘Some of the England boys were messaging me asking what it’s like and I was saying it wasn’t the most enjoyable thing you ever have to do… I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.
‘I text my brother saying the same thing and my brother asked, ‘you wouldn’t even do that to Marlon Samuels?’
‘I said, ‘no, it’s that bad’ – that’s how tough it was.’
Former England captain Vaughan criticised Samuels for his comments on Twitter, saying: ‘This is appalling @marlonsamuels… we are trying to stamp out racism…!! A bit of banter by @benstokes38 should not lead to this…’
Michael Vaughan, the former England captain, led criticism of Samuels’ ‘racist’ posts
There has been bad blood between Stokes and Samuels for more than five years.
Samuels famously saluted Stokes off the field after he was dismissed during a Test match in Grenada in April 2015 with the England man returning the favour by applauding when Samuels was out in the same match.
The pair also exchanged words during the 2016 World Twenty20 final in Kolkata after Carlos Brathwaite hit four consecutive sixes off Stokes deliveries in the final over to guide West Indies to victory.
In his 2016 book Firestarter, Stokes accused Samuels of ‘lacking respect.’
He wrote: ‘Marlon lacks respect. You get that if you have spent any time with him on a cricket field.
‘Marlon’s conduct after West Indies’ victory over us in this year’s World Twenty20 final showed a total disrespect for the game.
‘Without removing his batting pads, Marlon walked into a press conference, sat down and placed his feet on the desk. Totally lacking manners.’
Samuels, 39, has not played a one-day match for the West Indies since December 2018 and hasn’t featured for their Test side since November 2016.