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Australia have produced many immense talents over the years. One such talent was Andrew Symonds, who was a part of the national team set-up for over a decade and has won two ICC ODI World Cups with the national team. Symonds was part of the Australia side that have been dubbed the best ODI team in cricket history, but controversies marred the life of a brilliant cricketer. Today, we remember the legendary cricketer on what would have been his 47th birthday
Also known as 'Roy' by his friends and family, Symonds tragically passed away in May after being involved in a car crash just outside his hometown of Queensland. His death came as a massive blow to Australia cricket as the world had previously lost fellow greats Shane Warne and Rod Marsh in the months leading up to his death.
Symonds enjoyed a brilliant career as a cricketer. In addition to playing for the national team, he also spent time in English county cricket, playing for Kent, Lancashire, and Surrey. But his spell with Gloucestershire is considered one of the best in the world, with the star batter using the short boundaries to smack a world record 16 sixes during an unbeaten 254 against Glamorgan in 1995 as a budding 20-year-old.
This record was matched by Graham Napier 16 years later but stood unsurpassed until eight days ago when new England captain Ben Stokes smashed 17 for Durham against Worcestershire.
But his six-hitting skills were not enough to stop Symonds from getting involved in controversies. The biggest of them was the ‘Monkeygate’ scandal, and Symonds has attributed his alcoholism to the trauma that he faced after this incident.
During a Test match between India and Australia, Symonds accused India spinner Harbhajan Singh of making a racial slur in one of the darkest days between the two cricketing powerhouses. Singh, who denied any wrongdoing, was suspended for three matches. But the ban was overturned when India threatened to quit the tour.
Symonds felt let down by the process, and guilty for dragging his teammates into the saga. He later pinpointed it as the beginning of the end of his career as he turned to alcohol.
The former Mumbai Indians (MI) player was also involved in many controversies with the hierarchy of the national team. In 2009, he was axed from the Australian cricket team due to a contractual breach.
But given all the problems that Symonds has faced in his career, not a single fan of the sport can speak ill of his abilities as a player. He was hugely popular among his peers and also made up with Harbhajan Singh after the incident as both players starred for MI in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
