Cricket loses its flamboyant star
The world of cricket was left reeling after swashbuckling former all-rounder Andrew Symonds was killed in a car crash – another tragic blow after the recent deaths of fellow greats Shane Warne and Rod Marsh
Once-in-a-lifetime all-rounder: AN ASSET FOR ANY TEAM HE PLAYED IN
Andrew Symonds was widely considered one of the most skilled all-rounders Australian cricket has seen, bowling both off-spin and medium pace, while playing many match-winning hands with his explosive middle-order batting. He was a key part of Australia's back-to-back 50-over World Cup triumphs in 2003 and 2007. Domestically, he played for Queensland for 17 seasons, while appearing for Gloucestershire, Kent, Lancashire and Surrey in the English County Championship and for Deccan Chargers and Mumbai Indians in the IPL
June 9, 1975-May 14, 2022 Among the world's best fielders
Symonds is always mentioned in a discussion about the best fielders in cricket along with legends like Jonty Rhodes and Herschelle Gibbs. His fearless disposition to throw himself in a Superman-style dive in pursuit of balls was a trailblazing trait that has since been adopted all over the world. Rhodes, considered by many as the greatest fielder of all time, once said he felt that Symonds was a better all-round fielder
‘Monkeygate’, and his struggles after
Symonds, who was half Afro-Caribbean, will also be remembered for the "monkeygate" scandal that sent him into a downward spiral. He accused India spinner Harbhajan Singh of a racial slur during Sydney's 2008 New Year Test. Singh, who denied any wrongdoing, was suspended for three matches – a ban that was later overturned Symonds later revealed it took a heavy toll. "From that moment on that was my downhill slide... I started to drink heavily as a result of it and my life was starting to dissolve around me," he recalled in 2018