‘Beautiful person’ was ready to help
FORMER Diamonds captain Sharni Norder has opened up about her devastation at the death of cricket star Andrew Symonds, revealing his touching support for her after she revealed her mental health battles.
The pair met earlier this year filming the Maximus Decathlon, a television series involving retired sports stars including Norder, Symonds, Olympic swimmer Leisel Jones and former world surfing champion surfer Joel Parkinson, and became firm friends.
Norder – famous as much for her booming voice as her netball exploits – said Symonds threw “shade” at her on day one and they became firm friends when she served it right back. Speaking on Fox Netball’s Pivot program, Norder said she and Symonds shared some of their personal experiences over the week and said the 46-year-old was a “beautiful” person.
“He knew about my mental health struggles and he put his arm around me and said: ‘Sharns, I’m in your corner and if you ever need anything, I’m only ever a phone
call away’. “I really just wanted to share that because he was obviously really beautiful.
“I know that there are a lot of people struggling out there and I just wanted to
share my thoughts and condolences with his family, friends and to every life that he touched. “It didn’t matter if you knew him for an hour, for a week or for years, it’s a real loss.”