Aussie cricketer Andrew Symonds dies in crash
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
SYDNEY: Former Australia allrounder and two-time World Cup winner Andrew Symonds died in a car accident in Queensland late on Saturday, local police said.
Symonds was a big-hitting allrounder who built a credible test career and was an exemplar of Australian sport’s prized larrikin tradition. He was 46.
“Australian cricket has lost another of its very best. Andrew was a generational talent who was instrumental in Australia’s success at World Cups and as part of Queensland’s rich cricket history,” Cricket Australia chairman Lachlan Henderson said. “He was a cult figure to many (and) was treasured by his fans and friends.”
Cricket Australia reported details of Symonds’ death on its website, citing a police statement with details of the accident late Saturday night. The car Symonds was driving left the road and rolled, according to the police.
Symonds was a “larger-thanlife figure who drew a widespread fan base during his peak years for not only his hard-hitting ways but his larrikin persona,”
Cricket Australia said.
He was a member of Australia’s World Cup-winning teams in 2003 and 2007 and appeared in 198 one-day internationals in addition to 14 T20 Internationals.
Symonds’ wife, Laura, told local press that the family was in shock. “He was such a big person and there is just so much of him in his kids,” she said.
Tall and dreadlocked, his face daubed in zinc cream, Symonds had an iconic physical presence. He was born in Birmingham, UK, and his adoptive parents moved to Australia when he was an infant.