Durban Test: ‘Personal insults’ root of row between David Warner, de Kock

South African captain Faf du Plessis said the umpires needed to ensure proper behaviour on the field.

Warner DeKock Fight : Personal insults were at the root of a row between Australia’s David Warner and South Africa’s Quinton de Kock during the tea break of the fourth day of the first Test, their captains said.

The incident is in the hands of match referee Jeff Crowe, with no immediate clarity about when a decision could be expected.

CCTV footage showed Warner apparently turning on De Kock as the players walked up a narrow staircase leading to the dressing rooms at the start of the interval here in a match won by Australia.

“What was said and done during that interval was regrettable on both sides,” said Australian captain Steve Smith.

“Quinton got personal and evoked an emotional response from Davey. Those things are not on from both sides. Getting personal on the field is crossing the line in my opinion.”

Smith’s version was disputed by South African manager Mohammed Moosajee, who blamed Warner.

“There were words said out on the field. If you are saying something you’ve got to take it and that’s the opinion of Quinton. Let the investigations begin and let the match officials decide,” said Moosajee.

South African captain Faf du Plessis said the umpires needed to ensure proper behaviour on the field.

“From what I’ve heard there was a lot of personal stuff being said, to and from. Who started it, I don’t know. If it was happening on the field it should have been nipped in the bud.

“The fact that it spilled over after the field shouldn’t have happened.”

The CCTV footage shows Warner being restrained by teammates Usman Khawaja and Nathan Lyon before being persuaded to go into the dressing room by Smith.

Du Plessis said he had been aware of the incident. “I heard the commotion and went outside and just asked David to go into his dressing room.

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From Dhoni to Kohli, why skippers prefer their IPL boys in national team

Sports psychologists believe having IPL teammates playing together helps the national team’s performance.

Indian cricket team captains like Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Virat Kohli seem to prefer playing more with players from their respective IPL teams even in the national team. We have seen that for various tours over the years. But is there a real correlation between the composition of IPL teams and the Indian national cricket squad?

Business Standard analysed historical data, valuation reports and franchise balance sheets to comprehend the correlation, if any. What emerged was an interesting picture.

In 2014, when Dhoni was the captain of Chennai Super Kings, its players found a spot in the national squad 35 times in five tours. In 2017, when Virat Kohli captained Royal Challengers Bangalore, the team found a place in the Indian national side 26 times in eight tournaments. This was the highest among all IPL teams that year. An aberration was perhaps Mumbai Indians. Its players found a place in these tours 21 times in 2017. Mumbai’s representation in the national side has been consistent over the years.

On an average, Bangalore and Mumbai accounted for almost half the Indian squad in many of the tournaments in 2017. Bangalore’s representation has risen phenomenally over the past two years, while Mumbai Indians has consistently been sending at least three players to the national team since 2010.

An equally impressive representation in the Indian team is that of Sunrisers Hyderabad. But Hyderabad’s high representation is on account of some of its marquee players like Shikhar Dhawan, Ishant Sharma and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who have all been part of the Indian team for long now.

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