Warne and Samuels in ugly clash

Melbourne Renegades 1 for 147 (Finch 67*) beat Melbourne Stars 9 for 146 (Wright 29, Sheridan 3-36) by nine wickets
Scorecard

Shane Warne and Marlon Samuels were involved in an ugly confrontation as Melbourne Renegades secured a home semi-final in the Big Bash League in front of a record crowd for domestic cricket in Australia.

Aaron Finch's 67 off just 47 balls helped the Renegades to a nine-wicket win with seven balls to spare in front of a crowd of 46,581 which turned out for a fiery Melbourne derby.

Cricket Australia's delight at the success of the much-debated derby formula will be overshadowed by the ill discipline on the field as tempers flared between Warne, the Melbourne Stars captain, and Samuels, the enigmatic Renegades West Indies all-rounder, with several incidents likely to be looked at closely in the coming days.

CA officials are expected to announce details of a disciplinary hearing on Monday, although they will first check on the well-being of Samuels, who damaged an eye-socket after top-edging a ball from Lasith Malinga through the grill of his helmet and needed treatment at a Melbourne hospital. His tournament is assumed to be over.

Samuels angered the hosts during the Melboune Stars innings when he grabbed David Hussey as he was trying to turn for a second run - and Warne let him know all about it when he came out to bat.

In a verbal tirade picked up by Fox Sports microphones, Warne criticised Samuels for his unsporting behaviour at the end of the leg-spinner's second over, grabbing the West Indian by the shirt in illustration and jabbing his finger in his face.

Tempers reached boiling point the following over when Warne fielded a drive by Samuels and flipped the ball straight at the West Indian from close range as he stood in his crease. Samuels reacted angrily at the provocation, throwing his bat over Warne's head as the umpires rushed in to calm the situation.

It was a clear display of gamesmanship by Warne, who was trying desperately to pull his charges back into the match after they were restricted to just 146 having won the toss and electing to bat.The Renegades privately criticised Warne's behaviour as deliberately provocative and theatrical.

In what many will regard as another distasteful aspect of the stand-off, Warne was again wearing a microphone for the benefit of TV viewers and with the game going on used it to defend his actions to commentators.

"What are you meant to do when someone throws a bat at you?" he asked.

The night went from bad to worse for Samuels as he tried to hook a short ball from Malinga and top-edged it into his face. He was forced to retire hurt with blood streaming from an eye wound with only Malinga among the Stars players making obvious attempts to check on his welfare.

Warne later told the Herald Sun: Warne later tried to downplay the drama, saying he didn't expect to be disciplined by Cricket Australia. "I tried to throw the ball to Bobby Quiney and the next minute I decided to get out of the way of that bat," he said. "I'm more disappointed that we lost, that was just a heat of the moment thing. That's just the way it goes, I hope he's OK.

Samuels, acclaimed for his matchwinning display in the final of World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka in Australia, has been a marked man in Australia. Darren Lehmann, the Brisbane coach, was fined for questioning the legality of his quicker ball, a theme later picked up by the Adelaide coach Darren Berry.

For Renegades, it was another impressive all-round team performance with a number of contributors with the ball leading to an easy win.

Aaron O'Brien continued his great form, conceding just 22 runs off his four overs and taking the valuable wicket of Brad Hodge. He was backed up by Darren Pattinson (2 for 12), Will Sheridan (3 for 36) and the ever-reliable Muralitharan (1 for 27) as the Stars limped to a score well below par given the pace and consistency of the pitch.

The Stars had four batsmen reach 20 but not one of them was able to convert it into a bigger score. All-rounder James Faulkner hit two massive sixes to start the final over before the Renegades took a team hat-trick to stem the flow of runs.

Finch and Alex Doolan (30 off 28) were brutal early against the Stars fast bowlers and quickly took the game away from the hosts with a 70-run partnership in just 49 balls.

The Stars will look to re-group quickly ahead of their do-or-die clash with the Sydney Thunder in Melbourne on Tuesday. The task won't be made any easier by the loss of Malinga, McKay, Hussey and Maxwell to international duty. With the Heat, Hurricanes, Strikers and Scorchers all battling for the final three spots in the semi-finals, nothing less than a win will do for the Stars.

Despite securing top place, the Renegades have problems of their own, with Finch joining the Australian team for the series against Sri Lanka and Doolan (ankle) and Samuels (face) both under injury clouds ahead of their game against the Sydney Sixers in Sydney on Wednesday.

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Shadab Nazar routs his home state

"We don't want star players. We want performers," Wing commander Deepak Bhaskar, the Services manager, had said before the start of their quarter-final against Uttar Pradesh, when asked about the big-name players in the opposition. Performance was what he got from his players on day one. Leading them was fast bowler Shadab Nazar, a corporal in the Air Force, who routed UP for 134 on the way to his third five-for in his debut first-class season.

Nazar, 25, ironically hails from UP and played age-group cricket for the state. He was part of the same sports hostel set-up in Lucknow where Suresh Raina and RP Singh come from, before he was recruited by Bhaskar into the Air Force. Today, he showed no mercy to his former state-mates as he bustled in with a run-up full of energy and found generous bounce from the Holkar Stadium pitch to claim 5 for 51.

Nazar's been with Services for six years now, but broke into their first-class side only this season, though he played a couple of one-dayers in early 2010. He's already become a potent part of the side's fast-bowling attack, along with Suraj Yadav and Nishan Singh, and has played all their nine games so far in the season to pick up 30 wickets at an average of 23.56.

"It doesn't matter how big the batsman's reputation is. In the end, it is all about putting the ball in the right areas," Nazar said. He added more zip to the Services attack as soon as he was introduced first change and dismissed three of the top six UP batsmen. "My approach was to just keep it on a tight length," he said.

Nazar felt the pitch had eased out slightly after the morning session in which UP lost seven wickets but it was still not easy for the batsmen. Bhaskar said the deliveries that zipped through had decreased in number but were still enough of a threat.

The UP attack has delivered four outright wins in the season and it was quite an achievement for Services to earn a lead of 20 runs by stumps with five wickets in hand. Even more so, considering they had to redo their batting order following the unavailability of the captain Soumik Chatterjee, who hurt his knee while fielding in the deep. Chatterjee was taken for an MRI scan, the results of which were awaited. The seriousness of his injury was evident when, unable to walk, he was carried from the dressing room to the team bus by his team-mates.

What part, if any, Chatterjee will be able to play in the remainder of the match was unclear but for a determined Services side, it is just one of the several odds they have to tackle.

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Raza leads Eagles to victory

A half-century from Sikandar Raza led Mashonaland Eagles to a 42-run win against Mid West Rhinos in Harare. Eagles made a swift start after they were sent in, with their openers adding 59 before Chamu Chibhabha was dismissed in 6.4 overs. Raza, however, went on to hold one end up, keeling the innings steady by making 62 off 56 balls. He was dismissed only in the 18th over and Eagles ended on 149 for 6. Michael Chinouya and Neville Madziva took two wickets each for Rhinos.

Rhinos' chase never got going as wickets fell in two clumps. They went from 33 for 1 to 65 for 6, and then from 101 for 6 to 103 for 9 at the end of their innings. Peter Moor top scored with 30. Eagles used eight bowlers and Ray Price took 1 for 8 in his four overs.

Rain allowed only eight overs in the game between Southern Rocks and Matabeleland Tuskers in Bulawayo. Rocks made 50 for 1 before the match had to be abandoned.

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Warne banned for one BBL match

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, although his gut instinct was to accept it and hope 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 !

"I am weighing up all my options at the moment & taking some advice.. Update you all soon, thanks for your support, means a lot.... My instinct says take the 1 match ban & hope the boys win tomorrow night & be available for the semi final, but as I said will keep u posted."

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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Gazi's ten help South to tight win

South Zone 248(Anamul 74, Yasin 4-50) and 248(Anamul 73, Nabil 6-81) beat East Zone 236 (Nafees 83, Gazi 6-66) and 227(Nafees 63, Gazi 5-73) by 37 runs
Scorecard

Sohag Gazi's maiden first-class ten-wicket haul ended up being the difference in South Zone's tight win against East Zone in Mirpur. Needing 137 runs to win on the final day with eight wickets in hand, East Zone were in a comfortable position. But their day started disastrously as from 154 for 2, they slipped to 171 for 8 in a matter of six overs, with Gazi picking up four of the six wickets to complete his second five-for of the match. There was a brief resistance before East Zone collapsed to hand over the win to the South.

East Zone, after putting South into bat, had struck regularly to reduce them to 196 for 9 with only Anamul Haque getting past 50. But a last-wicket stand 52 runs helped South pull ahead. In response, East made a solid start with Nafees Iqbal and Mominul Haque scoring half-centuries, but a lower-order collapse triggered by Gazi and Abdur Razzak meant that East ended 12 runs behind South.

South responded with a century stand for the second wicket between Soumya Sarkar and Anamul and although Nabil Samad picked up six wickets, South again managed 248 in the second innings, setting up a tough fourth-innings chase.

North Zone 361 (Junaid 78, Mushfiqur 76*, Farhad Hossain 74, Sunny 3-80) and 397 for 6 (Nasir 131, Farhad Reza 77, Maisuqur 73) drew with Central Zone 436 for 9 dec. (Ashraful 133, Mehrab 131)
Scorecard

A rapid century by Nasir Hossain lit up the last day of the match between North Zone and Central Zone before it ended in a draw. North had already wiped off the 75-run deficit and with a result unlikely, Nasir played attacking cricket to bring up his century of 89 balls with six fours and three sixes. Farhad Reza and Maisuqur Rahman also scored half-centuries in an innings where all eleven of Central's players were used for bowling.

Nasir's ton overcame his failure in the first innings in which only North's top-order had contributed to help the team to 361 with Mushfiqur Rahim unbeaten on 76. In response, Central had stumbled to 88 for 4 at one stage, but a 228-run stand between Mohammad Ashraful, who scored 133, and Mehrab Hossain jnr, who scored 131, set the platform for the team to take a first innings lead and take three points from the match.

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Buchanan 'frosty' with New Zealand CEO

Perhaps unsurprisingly after the side has been rolled for 45 in a Test match, tensions remain apparent at the top of the New Zealand management structure with John Buchanan, the director of cricket, admitting to a difficult relationship with chief executive David White which stemmed from the controversial demotion from the captaincy of Ross Taylor.

Buchanan, who joined New Zealand Cricket in April 2011, had not spoken to the media since Taylor was dumped as captain following the Sri Lanka tour and is not in South Africa. He has been monitoring events from Australia before heading back across the Tasman to resume his duties watching domestic cricket and scouting for talent.

A host of former New Zealand players, led by the vocal Martin Crowe, have been severely critical of the change of captaincy and the way Taylor, who opted out of the South Africa tour, has been treated. Neither has Buchanan agreed with everything but is hopeful of improving the situation with White.

"It can be frosty at times, but he's got a job to do, as I have," Buchanan told the Star Times. "We certainly don't always meet eye-to-eye, there's no doubt about that. But I am very confident he gives me every possible support he can and takes my views and represents them quite candidly to the board."

He also said his relationship with the coach Mike Hesson had "received a bit of a road bump" due to events in Sri Lanka but he has spoken to Hesson since the defeat in Newlands to offer his support

"I've always let it be know to Mike that I'm available," he said. "I'm not one that really wants to spend every moment ringing or intruding into the coach's domain. Having been a coach myself, I know there are good times, and there are times when you need to talk to people."

Buchanan retains the belief that there are players available to turn New Zealand's fortunes around and that he does not have any second thoughts about his job.

"It's a a fantastic role," he said. "That's why I took on the job and I still say that. I still maintain the opportunities in New Zealand Cricket are immense, in terms of what could be achieved in a short period of time - provided we all get on the same page."

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Hughes, Khawaja tip out Hussey

Michael Hussey will not get his desired ODI farewell at least partly to keep Usman Khawaja and Phillip Hughes away from the Twenty20 Big Bash League ahead of the India tour, the national selector John Inverarity has admitted.

Inverarity unveiled a curious squad for the first two matches of the limited-overs series against Sri Lanka on Sunday, captained by George Bailey while Brad Haddin resumes as the ODI gloveman in order to allow rest for Michael Clarke and Matthew Wade. David Warner has also been given time off after playing all formats for the past year.

Aaron Finch was rewarded for a compelling limited-overs summer so far while Ben Cutting has returned to the national squad for the first time since he was 12th man for the first Test match of last summer. Hussey's omission despite indicating a desire to play a final round of limited-overs games before he exited the international stage was notable, and Inverarity said the the call was made with an eye on the 2015 World Cup but also the India Test tour that begins in February.

"Our intention before two weeks ago was to give Michael a break during the Sri Lankan series and then have him refreshed and ready to come back into the ODIs against the West Indies and then off to India," Inverarity said. "Of course things changed a bit last week. We've talked it over with Mike but the overriding fact is what's best for Australian cricket and we move forward.

"We're very mindful of the 2015 World Cup and we think these ODIs are very important in terms of players like Usman Khawaja and Phillip Hughes and others having the opportunity being within the team and being in the ODI side rather than playing Big Bash League cricket partly as an opportunity for India for those who are selected. So I think we need to use those places for the future of Australian cricket.

"I think we have picked a particularly exciting side. Aaron Finch, and a lot of you have seen him play, there are not many more exciting players than Aaron. When he gets runs he gets them in quite spectacular fashion. Ben Cutting too. I think this is a very very attractive side. How will we know about the best players of the future if opportunity is not invested in them?"

Australia's coach Mickey Arthur had used the term quarantine after the Hobart match when explaining why members of the national squad were not being handed over to their BBL teams in between Tests. There is real concern among the coaches and selectors that a lack of first-class cricket through such a large chunk of the season is harming the development and preparation of both current and potential international players.

Haddin's return to the team ahead of the younger Tim Paine meanwhile provided a reminder that the selectors still valued the New South Welshman's experience. Inverarity said that Haddin remained the back-up Test wicketkeeper also, and that he would tour should the panel choose two glovemen for India or the Ashes tour of England.

"We're of the view that the two best wicketkeeper-batsmen are Matthew Wade and Brad Haddin. If something happened to Matthew than Brad Haddin would come into the side," Inverarity said. "We may or may not take two keepers to India and/or England. At this stage, our firm intention is if we take two it'll be Matthew Wade and Brad Haddin.

"Matthew's a very talented cricketer, very talented keeper and batsman, he's young and we think he'll get better and better and this has been the history of Australian cricket, we go back to Rod Marsh starting in 1970-71 and he and Ian Healy and others improved remarkably over the first couple of years. So we are certainly looking towards Matthew to improve, I think he's keeping well, he's got good skills and he'll get better as time goes on."

Another on something of a Test trial over the next month will be the allrounder Glenn Maxwell, who was 12th man for the Sydney Test. Inverarity said he was hopeful that Maxwell's progress as a cricketer and a spin bowler would gain in momentum.

"We're certainly hoping Glenn Maxwell develops as a batting all-rounder who bowls decent off-spin," Inverarity said. "He's a very talented played who we think is likely to improve on a fairly steep incline. We were close to playing him [in Sydney] - It was a close decision - but we thought the best side for this game was the side we put out."

ODI squad George Bailey (capt), Phillip Hughes, Usman Khawaja, Aaron Finch, David Hussey, Brad Haddin (wk), Glenn Maxwell, Steven Smith, Mitchell Johnson, Ben Cutting, Mitchell Starc, Clint McKay, Xavier Doherty.

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Warner falls early in chase of 141

Lunch Australia 1 for 13 (Hughes 12*, Cowan 1*) need another 128 runs to beat Sri Lanka 294 and 278 (Karunaratne 85, Chandimal 62*, Jayawardene 60, Johnson 3-34, Bird 3-76)
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details

The wicket of David Warner for a duck gave Sri Lanka hope as Australia betrayed some early nerves in their small chase of 141 on the fourth day in Sydney. Dinesh Chandimal finished unbeaten on 62 and the 41-run stand he put on with Nuwan Pradeep for the final wicket was critical in giving Sri Lanka's bowlers something to defend. Pradeep was dismissed nearly half an hour before lunch, leaving Australia's openers a short period to bat before the break.

Sri Lanka opened with the offspin of Tillakaratne Dilshan and Australia began shakily as Ed Cowan was almost run out in the first over, having been sent back by Warner while attempting a single that wasn't there. Had the throw from the leg gully area hit the stumps at the striker's end Cowan would have been out, but he survived, avoiding the ignominy of two embarrassing run-outs for the Test after his first-innings brain-fade.

But from the first ball of the second over Sri Lanka did strike as Warner edged Suranga Lakmal to Mahela Jayawardene at second slip. Phillip Hughes was nearly bowled first ball when he failed to get the bat down in time to a Lakmal ball that just missed off stump and at lunch the Australians were grateful not to have lost any further wickets, with Hughes on 12 and Cowan on 1. The total was 1 for 13 and they required a further 128 runs for victory.

Every run was important for Sri Lanka as they resumed the morning at 7 for 225. Only ten runs had been added when Rangana Herath played on to Jackson Bird while attempting to leave the ball alone, and when Lakmal was bowled for a duck trying a hefty swipe off Mitchell Johnson it appeared that the innings could be over quickly. But Pradeep offered impressive support for Chandimal, who farmed the strike effectively.

Chandimal immediately lifted his tempo and struck three boundaries off a Bird over and soon had his half-century from 75 balls with another boundary whipped through midwicket off Bird. Pradeep got in on the act with four down the ground but next ball was caught behind off Bird as Sri Lanka were dismissed for 274.

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Maqbool hands Abbottabad innings defeat

Karachi Whites 459 for 3 dec (Latif 155, Mohtashim Ali 103, Saeed Nasir 80*) beat Abbottabad 146 (Maqbool 6-60) and 168 (Maqbool 7-59) by an innings and 145 runs
Scorecard

With Atif Maqbool's 13-wicket haul, Karachi Whites handed Abbottabad a crushing defeat by an innings and 145 runs in Karachi. Trailing by 313 in the first innings, Abbottabad lost all their wickets for 168 in the second innings, out of which seven were scalped by Maqbool.

When Whites started the third day, they already led by 218 runs and Saeed Bin Nasir and Fawad Alam scored another 95 runs together before declaring the innings. Abbottabad openers put on 41 together, but once the opening partnership was broken, they lost their last eight wickets for 98 runs as Khalid Usman was reported absent hurt.

Karachi Whites picked up nine points from the win which takes them to top of the table in Group II.

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South Africa have matured as a team - Smith

The differences between South Africa and New Zealand were far greater than the ability of one attack to take 20 wickets and the struggle of the other to do half of that or that one batting line-up could score over 300 and the other just over that in both innings combined. According to Graeme Smith what really separates top sides from those in the tier below is whether they can know their game and play it.

"The biggest thing is an understanding of what needs to be done and then going and doing it," Smith said. And for that, it takes experience. South Africa, although not to the same depths as New Zealand, have been through years of what was considered underachievement when they could not reach the top ranking and hovered below.

What they learnt in those years was the ability to withstand, what they learnt after that was how to push on. "There is resilience in the squad. We've been under big pressure. We've fought back from tough positions and we've worked our backsides off to get back into games. Then, when we've had that opportunity, we've driven a bus through the door," Smith said.

At the moment, New Zealand are still on level one but only barely. Sometimes, like in the first innings, they cannot withstand. On other occasions, such as the second, they can for a little while. On every instance over the last 12 months when South Africa have been under that kind of pressure, they have survived.

The Oval, where they came back after a sorry day one; Headingley, where Kevin Pietersen's innings could have blown them away; Lord's, where Matt Prior may have derailed them; Adelaide, where Faf du Plessis rearguard action was epic; and Perth, where Hashim Amla and Dale Steyn played Australia out of the match, all stand out as examples of that. Those performances have shaped the character of the South African squad that exists now.

"There is a good degree of confidence within the squad, which enables you to play that way going forward. If guys have got good performances behind them and come off with some good wins … it's a lot easier to play that way when you haven't got that kind of confidence," Smith said.

New Zealand are side that does not have it. Hobart and Colombo aside they have not had a good last year. It's obvious even to their opposition where their faults lie. "They are struggling to find who fits in where and how can perform in certain role," Smith said. "It's more than who bats at No. 4, it's about behind the scenes and the environment. They are growing there."

South Africa have leaders other than Smith in the dressing-room, a solid top six and a bowling attack that is the envy of the cricketing world. They look a perfectly balanced unit whose only worry is to drive home their No. 1 ranking as hard as they can. "It's just about winning really, that is what you are defined by in modern-day sport," Smith said. "If you play games like this and you are dominant and you take the game forward, it's very nice."

They have been in control before but rarely as much as they were against New Zealand at Newlands, when Smith looked at the scoreboard and saw New Zealand were 26 for 9. "I couldn't quite believe we were in that situation," he said. "We bowled superbly in our new spells. We didn't start sluggish and we asked questions early on."

What was as important as the emphatic nature of the bowling for Smith was the calmness of the batting that followed. "After bowling them out for 45, the attitude we had as a batting unit was so important. It would be easy to go out there and think: 'What's happening out here?'" he said. "It was great to see Alviro push through those little sessions where he has found it tough in the past, because his potential is huge."

Petersen's hundred could end up as the least talked about but most telling act in the match. That would not matter to Smith, even if he doesn't get his due, because it's not as much about the individual as it is about the collective. "There's honesty in the group. I see us as mature team. We've grown up now." New Zealand will hope they can do the same.

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