AB in to bat for Symmo

Aussie legend reveals regret over ‘Monkey-gate’

ALLAN Border has revealed his lingering disappointment that Cricket Australia failed to support Andrew Symonds during the infamous “Monkeygate” furore on India’s 2007-08 tour of Australia.

Border, who was a member of the board at the time, says fears of a massive financial loss for Cricket Australia dictated their actions in backing down to India when it threatened to pull out of the tour after offspinner Harbhajan Singh was handed a three-match ban by the ICC for racial abuse to former Gold Coast Dolphins star Symonds.

The Indians threatened to boycott the tour, and appealed the decision. Harbhajan was ultimately found guilty of a lesser charge of using abusive language in the appeal heard by New Zealand High Court judge John Hansen.

He was fined 50 per cent of his match fee.

But in the second part of a documentary on Australian and India’s sometimes strained relationship, 2 Nations 1 Obsession, to screen on Fox Cricket tonight, Border and a host of Symonds’ teammates claimed the Australian all-rounder got little support from his own board.

“I was on the cricket board as a director and I was very disappointed with the stance we took,” Border told filmmaker Peter Dickson. “We backtracked quite substantially.

“But there was a strong reason for it – the threat of (India) going home became a serious financial hole.

“Was it one of those retreats where you lose the battle but win the war, I don’t know?”

Symonds maintains Harbhajan said to him “You’re nothing but a monkey’’, but remains just as frustrated that “Cricket Australia was intimidated by the Indian Cricket Board.”

“It was a very political time … it was just a really ugly incident … if the truth honestly prevailed and common sense, there would have been a punishment for a player, it would have been dealt with and it would have set a precedent for the future. I don’t think it has done that,” Symonds said.

Teammates Adam Gilchrist and Stuart Clark expressed their frustration at the lack of support Symonds received.

“Myself as vice-captain, and Ricky (Ponting) as captain, were trying to completely back our player. Andrew Symonds wasn’t going to back down,” Gilchrist said.

“Andrew Symonds would feel certain that his board didn’t back him.”