CricDigs Blogs

God knows what has happened to Andrew Symonds of Australia. The guy was a match-winner and a crowd favourite till very recently and now every other day there are reports of his drunken brawls or misbehaving with the team support staff or something else that shouldn’t be associated with a senior member of the team. With the exit of some big names from the Aussie squad, Symmo was probably a guiding force for the Australian middle-order and an important member for maintaining the team’s balance by performing as a credible all-rounder.

Somewhere near that racism-linked verbal duel with Harbhajan Singh that happened last season, Symonds seems to have lost that tenacity and self-assurance that came so naturally to him. Ponting has always backed him and it was the captain’s vote alone that had pushed Symonds in the test matches against the Kiwis. Even then, Symonds just fails to live up to his skipper’s and the people’s expectation.

Now, there are reports of him having passed some really abusive remarks against a Kiwi player for no apparent reason. Disciplinary actions are becoming more regular than his match-winning performances. This is when the Aussie team seriously need him to shoulder responsibility with Hayden and Gilchrist no longer playing. There were reports that even his domestic state side’s coach isn’t very pleased about including him in the playing XI and the national selectors don’t want him on the upcoming tour to SA.

Yet again, it is Ponting who could push Symonds’ name in the 15/16 member squad for SA but one has to wonder what sort of an example Ponting is setting by clearly favouring a player despite his repeated failure to react positively to any sort of faith that is shown in him.

As far as team’s balance goes, David Hussey is doing a pretty good job of bowling tight-lined off-spinners like Symonds and batting decently lower down the order. Yes, he doesn’t have the audacious strength and brutal hitting prowess of Symonds but should a player be included in the playing XI when he continues to openly confess having made a series blunders under the influence of alcohol?