Andrew Symonds

Andrew Symonds
Personal information
Full name	Andrew Symonds
Nickname	Roy, Symmo
Born	9 June 1975 (1975-06-09) (age 34)
	Birmingham, England
Batting style	Right-hand
Bowling style	Right-arm medium, Right-arm offbreak
Role	All-rounder
International information
National side	Australia
Test debut (cap 388)	8 March 2004: v Sri Lanka
Last Test	20 November 2008: v New Zealand
ODI debut (cap 139)	10 November 1998: v Pakistan
Last ODI	6 July 2008:v West Indies
ODI shirt no.	63
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1994 -	Queensland
1995 - 1996	Gloucestershire
1999 - 2004	Kent
2005	Lancashire
2008 -	Deccan Chargers
Career statistics
	Tests	ODIs	FC	List A
Matches	23	193	219	416
Runs scored	1,341	5,006	14,239	10,951
Batting average	43.25	40.37	43.01	34.32
100s/50s	2/9	6/29	40/63	9/63
Top score	162*	156	254*	156
Balls bowled	1,938	5,827	17,159	11,545
Wickets	23	129	236	278
Bowling average	37.17	37.68	36.17	33.22
5 wickets in innings	0	1	2	4
10 wickets in match	0	n/a	0	n/a
Best bowling	3/50	5/18	6/105	6/14
Catches/stumpings	19/–	80/–	155/–	181/–
Source: CricketArchive, 29 November 2008

Andrew Symonds (born 9 June 1975, Birmingham, England)^[1] is a batting all-rounder for the Australian cricket team. A two time World Cup winner, Symonds is a right-handed middle order batsman and alternates between medium pace and off-spin.

Early life

One of Symonds' biological parents was of Afro-Caribbean background^[2] Symonds' adoptive parents Ken and Barbara moved to Australia shortly after his adoption, when he was three months old.^[3] He has two non-adopted siblings. He spent the early part of his childhood in Charters Towers, northern Queensland, where his father Ken taught at the private fee paying All Souls St Gabriels School, which Andrew attended.^[4] He showed sporting prowess from a very early age. "Dad was cricket mad. He’d throw balls to me five or six days a week, before school, after school. And we’d play all sorts of games inside the house with ping-pong balls and Christmas decorations."^[5] Much of his junior cricket was played in Townsville for the Wanderers club, father and son making the 270-kilometre return trip sometimes twice a week.^[6] The family later moved to the Gold Coast, where his parents were on the staff of All Saints Anglican School in Merrimac. Symonds was a student at the school.^[7]

Symonds has expressed no wish to meet his biological parents, one of whom was of West Indian descent.

Overview of cricket career

Symonds is a right-handed aggressive batsman and he can also bowl off spin or medium pace, making him a good all-rounder. He is an exceptional fielder, with a report prepared by Cricinfo in late 2005 showing that since the 1999 Cricket World Cup, he had effected the fifth equal most run-outs in ODI cricket of any fieldsman, with the fourth highest success rate.^[8] He is very agile for his size and weight (medium-heavy build; 187 cm tall), has excellent reflexes, is able to take catches well and has a powerful and accurate throwing arm. His nickname is Roy, shortened from the name Leroy, after a coach from early in his career believed he resembled local Brisbane NBL hero Leroy Loggins.^[9] Andrew Symonds once won the Cricket Writers' Club's prestigious Young Cricketer of the Year award following a successful debut season with Gloucestershire. He was selected for the England A tour of Pakistan that winter, but pulled out in order to win a place in the Australian side (a decision that turned him into an overseas player for Championship purposes). Symonds's place on that England A tour, which was captained by Nasser Hussain, was taken by Middlesex's Jason Pooley. [1]

Domestic cricket

Australian State Cricket

Symonds

Since making his debut for the Queensland state team in the 1994-1995 season Symonds has scored more than 5,000 runs and taken more than 100 wickets for his state. Symonds scored 113 and took four wickets in a losing cause in the Sheffield Shield final in 1999 and was named Man of the Match in the 2002 Pura Cup final after scoring 123 runs and taking six wickets.

English Counties

Symonds initially played for Gloucestershire in 1995 hitting a record 16 sixes in his unbeaten 254 against Glamorgan at the Abergavenny. He beat the mark set by New Zealand's John R. Reid.

Wisden reported that the 16th six :

"landed on a tennis court about 20 feet (6.1 m) over the boundary" and

"though he was undoubtedly helped by the short boundaries, it would have been a hugely effective innings on any ground in the world".

Symonds added four more sixes in the second innings, to beat the old record of 17 in a match, set by Warwickshire's Jim Stewart against Lancashire at Blackpool in 1959.

After a successful 1995 season, Symonds was offered the opportunity to play cricket for England. The selectors picked him for the England A tour to Pakistan that winter. However he decided that he wanted to play for the Australian team and returned to play for Queensland instead.

Symonds later played for Kent between 1999 and 2004. Whilst at Kent he hit a 43-ball 112 for Kent Spitfires in a Twenty20 Cup match against Middlesex Crusaders on 2 July, 2004.

In July 2005 he signed for Lancashire for the rest of the season having finished duties as part of Australia's ODI squad.

Indian Premier League

On 20 February 2008 Symonds signed up with the IPL franchise Deccan Chargers from Hyderabad for US$ 1,350,000 making him the second most expensive player in the league. The same team also secured Australian team-mate Adam Gilchrist for US$ 700,000. The IPL commenced on 18 April 2008. On 24 April 2008 Symonds made 117 not out off 53 balls against the Rajasthan Royals.^[10] The Royals ended up winning that match as Symonds bowled the last over and conceded 19 runs when the Royals required 17 runs from six balls.

One Day Internationals

He made his One Day International (ODI) debut for Australia in 1998. He opted to represent Australia over England (his country of birth).

Andrew Symonds batting against South Africa

As an ODI player, he is known for scoring runs at an excellent strike rate of over 90, with a highest score of 156. He cemented his place in the team in Australia's opening match of the 2003 Cricket World Cup, where he scored 143* to guide Australia from 4/86 to 8/310. Symonds is sometimes branded as a one-day International 'specialist' as his ODI record with both ball and bat are far better than that of his Test match averages.

At the 2006 Allan Border Medal count, Symonds would have won the One Day player of the year award as he polled the most votes, but was ineligible due to a late night of drinking which led to him turning up still inebriated to a match against Bangladesh, after which he was suspended. Symonds won Player of the Series in the 2005/06 Australian VB Series.

Although selected in Australia's 15-member World Cup squad he was unavailable for selection for the first few matches because he ruptured his biceps while batting against England on 2 February 2007 in the Commonwealth Bank Tri Series. Surgery was performed and Symonds underwent extensive physical rehabilitation. As a result he missed the remainder of that tournament as well as the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy in New Zealand while Australia suffered their longest losing streak in over a decade. Symonds remarkably made a relatively quick recovery after returning for Australia's win in their last preliminary World Cup match against South Africa..^[11][12] He bowled the final ball of the 2007 Cricket World Cup that was hosted in the West Indies.The final was contested between Australia and Sri Lanka and was shortened to 38/36 overs per side due to rain throughout the day. Even the final few overs of the Sri Lanka innings were played in almost darkness.

During the second final of the 2007-08 Commonwealth Bank Series against India on 4 March 2008, Symonds shoulder charged a male streaker who had entered the playing arena. Symonds, who had once considered a career in rugby league with the Brisbane Broncos^[13], may have faced assault charges had the man taken legal action.^[14]

When in Darwin during the One Day Series against Bangladesh in August/September 2008, he left the team to do some fishing, while the Australian cricket team was at a compulsory team meeting and was ordered to be sent home by the coach.

Test cricket

In March 2004, he made his long-awaited Test debut in Australia's tour of Sri Lanka after showing great form in ODI cricket in 2003. However, he encountered difficulty against Muttiah Muralitharan on the dusty, spinning Sri Lankan tracks, failing to pass 25 in any of his four innings, and was dropped after two Test matches. He was recalled in November 2005 following the injury to Shane Watson, as Australia's search for an all-rounder continued. After 5 Tests, with a batting average of 12.62 and a bowling average of 85.00, his position in the team was under a cloud until the 2005 Boxing Day Test. On the first day of the match, he was out caught behind for a golden duck. Then, with his batting average threatening to drop under 10 and bowling average pushing 100, Symonds took 3/50 in the South African first innings before blasting 72 off 54 balls in the second innings (including a new Australian record for the fastest Test fifty - 40 balls) and taking 2/6.

Andrew Symonds on the way to his maiden Test hundred

Whilst batting in the second Test in the Australian 2006 tour of South Africa, Symonds was struck in the face of his helmet by a bouncer off Makhaya Ntini. Symonds required four stitches on the inside of his upper lip. Struggling for reliable impact, Symonds was again dropped at the end of this series.

Following the retirement of Damien Martyn during the Ashes in 2006/07 Symonds was again recalled to the team. Scoring just 26 and 2 in his first Test back he found himself under pressure to justify his place in the team. In the Boxing Day Test Symonds faced his biggest challenge when arriving at the crease with Australia in deep trouble at 5/84. After a slow start to his innings he proceeded to score his first Test century, combining with his good friend Matthew Hayden to put on a 279 run partnership and bringing up the century with a six. Symonds was finally dismissed for 156.

During Sri Lanka's tour of Australia he had good form with the bat but had an ankle injury which ruled him out of the rest of the test series.

During the second test against India on 2 January 2008 Symonds completed his second test century, coming to the crease with Australia at 4-119. When Michael Clarke (1) and then Adam Gilchrist (7) were dismissed in quick succession Australia found themselves in poor shape at 6-134. Symonds and Brad Hogg put on a record 7th wicket partnership at the SCG (also a record for Australia vs. India) of 173 until Brad Hogg was dismissed for 79. Symonds was the beneficiary of some controversial decisions in the course of his innings. At stumps on the first day, Symonds was not out on 137, and Australia 7-376. By the end of the innings, Symonds finished on 162 not out, when the Australians were finally bowled out for 463.^[15]

Allegations of racial taunts

In 2007 crowds at the One Day Series in Vadodara, Nagpur and Mumbai were seen to offend Symonds with monkey chants. After the BCCI initially denied the incident at Vadodara took place, further incidents occurred at the other grounds in the series.^[16][17] .

In 2008, Indian spin bowler Harbhajan Singh received an initial three-match ban after a complaint that he had racially abused Symonds during the third day of the SCG Test. It was alleged that Harbhajan called Symonds a "monkey" after Symonds confronted him over touching fellow Australian player Brett Lee. The case was decided by the match referee, Mike Procter, in a hearing held after the match.^[18] The BCCI lodged an appeal against the decision. On January 29 2008, after the hearing of the appeal, at Adelaide by ICC appeals commissioner John Hansen, the racism charge on Harbhajan Singh was not proved and the three Test ban was lifted. However, a lesser charge (Level 2.8 offense) of using abusive language was applied and Harbhajan was fined 50% of his match fee. Hansen later admitted that he "could have imposed a more serious penalty if he was made aware by the ICC of the bowler's previous transgressions" - including a suspended 1 Test Match ban. The ICC claimed the "database and human errors ... played a part in Harbhajan Singh escaping a more severe penalty during his appeal hearing in Adelaide"^[19] Hansen also criticised Symonds in his report accusing him of swearing at Harbhajan after a friendly gesture by Harbhajan towards Brett Lee. Also it was reported that senior players had written a letter to John Hansen requesting a downgrading of the charge. The letter was signed by Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting and counter-signed by Michael Clarke, Matthew Hayden and Andrew Symonds.^[20][21] The stump microphone audio from immediately after the alleged incident between Harbhajan Singh and Andrew Symonds was released by Channel Nine.^[22]

Misdemeanor --- One day and Test series dismissal

Symonds was set to play in the August 2008 opening game in Darwin, but instead headed back to Queensland after missing the team meeting on Friday to go fishing. Stand-in captain Michael Clarke said Symonds needs to re-evaluate his desire to represent Australia, saying "The main concern from us is Andrew's commitment, to playing for this team and in my opinion and I know the rest of the leadership team's opinion, you need to be committed 100 per cent".

He was also not selected for the Australian Tour to India, Oct 2008 - Nov 2008, as a part of his misdemeanor. However, after the bashing Australia received at India's hands and after having lost the series 2-0, Symonds quickly become an integral part of Australia's future plans. He was selected to play the test series against New Zealand Nov - Dec 2008. He did not play any significant role in the first test Australia won. However after the end of the test match, he went out for a drink in Brisbane on 22nd Nov 2008 and was reported to be involved in a brawl with another patron at the bar. He was cleared by Cricket Australa on the 26th of Nov 2008 to play in the following test in Adeliade.

Teams

International

• Australia (current)

Australian state

• Queensland Bulls (current)

English county

• Lancashire
• Gloucestershire
• Kent
• Surrey

Indian Premier League

• Deccan Chargers (current)

Career highlights

Tests

Debut: Against Sri Lanka Galle, 2003-2004

• Best Test bowling figures: 3-50 (South Africa, Melbourne, 2005-06).
• Best Test batting score: 162* (India, Sydney, 3 January 2008).

One-day Internationals

Debut: Against Pakistan, Lahore, 1998-1999

• Symonds' best ODI score of 156 was against New Zealand, at Westpac Stadium, Wellington, 7 December 2005
• His best ODI bowling figures of 5 for 18 came against Bangladesh, Manchester, 2005

World Records

Symonds holds the world records for the most sixes hit during a first-class innings (16) and during a first-class match (20), both set while playing for Gloucestershire against Glamorgan as a 20 year old. His first innings score was 254 not out.

Fielding

He caught Shane Warne's 500th wicket.

External links

• Cricinfo profile on Andrew Symonds
• Andrew Symonds official website

References

Australia squad – 2007 Cricket World Cup (4th title) 8 Clark • 11 McGrath • 14 Ponting (c) • 17 Hodge • 18 Gilchrist • 23 Clarke • 25 Johnson • 28 Hayden • 31 Hogg • 32 Tait • 33 Watson • 48 Hussey • 57 Haddin • 58 Lee • 59 Bracken • 63 Symonds • Coach: Buchanan Brett Lee was named in the original squad but withdrew from the tournament and was replaced by Stuart Clark

Australia squad – 2003 Cricket World Cup (3rd title) 4 Gillespie • 11 McGrath • 12 Bevan • 14 Ponting (c) • 18 Gilchrist • 25 Lehmann • 28 Hayden • 29 Harvey • 30 Martyn • 31 Hogg • 34 Bichel • 39 Symonds • 58 Lee •  Bracken •  Hauritz •  Maher • Coach: Buchanan Jason Gillespie, Shane Warne and Shane Watson were named in the original squad but withdrew from the tournament