‘You two won’t get out alive in Barbados’ - Brad Haddin recalls ugly on-field confrontation with Sulieman Benn

Australia and the West Indies are currently engaged in a two-match Test series down under and the hosts have taken a 1-0 lead by winning the first contest in Perth. The two teams have battled it out in some memorable contests over the years and the level of intensity is always high when both sides take on each other.

Although, the Windies led by Kraigg Brathwaite put up a fight against the Aussies in the opening Test at the Perth Stadium, the team is nowhere close to the West Indian side of yesteryear that used to take every challenge head on. Hence, there always used to be some verbal exchange between the Aussies and the West Indian players whenever both teams took the field against each other.

Talking about one such incident, former Australia wicketkeeper-batter Brad Haddin recalled an argument that involved him and the Windies cricketer Sulieman Benn in the 2009-10 summer.

Haddin reminisced the on-field confrontation that had gone out of hand and opened up that Benn had threatened to ‘stab’ him and Mitchell Johnson.

“He (Benn) used to sledge us but didn’t really want to hear from us which was not a great character trait. But then he said something really weird, we (Brad Haddin and Mitchell Johnson) were about to head to the T20 World Cup and he said ‘You two won’t get out alive in Barbados, I will stab you’ and I said ‘beg your pardon’ and that then is when it got misty and I don’t really know what happened after that,” told Haddin when he spoke at length while commentating on the Perth Test on ‘Triple M’.

“You’re sticking up for your mate, we’ve always been close Jonno (Mitchell Johnson) and I so I’ve just gone in and pointed the bat and said ‘this is on now, you can’t say things like that’. I remember I got fined 25 per cent of my match fee and I looked at it and I signed it and I handed it straight back and walked out. And he said ‘Hads (Haddin) what are you doing?’ And I said ‘mate that was all worth it, I’m happy to pay 25 per cent’,” added Haddin.

Australia lead Test series 1-0

Hosts Australia have started off the ongoing Test series just as they had hoped for as they won the match and are thereby leading the series 1-0. The Pat Cummins-led Australia thrashed the Windies by a margin of 164 runs in the Test series opener in Perth. Both teams will now play the second and final red-ball contest scheduled to commence on December 8 in Adelaide.