Record crowd at T20 Melbourne Derby
Jan 06, 2013
A crowd of 46,581 at the MCG - an Australian domestic cricket record - saw Melbourne Renegades defeat crosstown rivals Melbourne Stars by nine wickets with seven balls to spare in their T20 Big Bash League (BBL) match on Sunday night.
The attendance broke the previous record, also at the MCG, which was set in January 2010 between Victoria and Tasmania in a BBL match.
Shane Warne and Marlon Samuels were involved in an ugly confrontation as Melbourne Renegades (1/147 from 18.5 overs) secured a home semi final by chasing down the Stars' 146 from its 20 overs, thanks mainly to captain Aaron Finch's 67 off just 47 balls.
The match, and the record crowd, was overshadowed by an on-field confrontation between Warne, the Melbourne Stars captain, and Samuels, the enigmatic Renegades West Indies all-rounder, with both players later charged with several alleged breaches of Cricket Australia's Code of Behaviour.
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.
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.
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 (2/12), Will Sheridan (3/36) and the ever-reliable Muralitharan (1/27) as the Stars limped to a below-par score.
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.