How does a team punish a player for skipping a team session: give him more time off! Andrew Symonds and controversy do not seem very far apart. Once again Symonds finds himself in hot water ahead of the tour to India and no prizes for guessing what he was up to!
It may seem like a casual day in the park. How tough can an opposition like Bangladesh be? Perhaps a similar though was running through Andrew Symonds’ head when he decided to use the day before the first one day international for some practice – fishing practice that is. After all some skills need to be perfected against tougher opponents. (Bangladesh’s performance in the first game did not do them any justice either.)
Symonds who opted out of the net session on the eve of the match also ended up missing a team meeting finding himself in deep waters (pun intended). There was suggestions he was drunk thereafter but that was a secondary issue for the team management’s leadership group. The result was that even his closeness with the stand-in skipper Michael Clarke was not going to do him any favours. He was read the riot act (and he has heard a few in his time) and he apologized for his misdeed (and he has said a few in his time).
Now Symonds has a month off to decide on how he intends to approach the subject of his inclusion in the Australian squad. His seniority meant that more was expected of him with Ricky Ponting rendered unavailable through injury, Matthew Hayden pulling out at the last minute and Brett Lee’s marriage fiasco after splitting from his podiatrist wife, Liz Kemp, forcing him to take time out.
Fortunately for Australia, it is Bangladesh and if even against this opposition, they fail because of the absence of Symonds, their status as world champions would have been brought into focus. But it has happened before and Symonds was at the deep end of it on the occasion, only it happened to be a bottle laced rather than a fishing rod. Recall back to 2005 when Symonds turned up still under the influence of alcohol at Cardiff had to be benched. Australia went on to lose that game against Bangladesh. Most recently he was fined for missing the team bus in the Caribbean and his troubles do not seem to be ending any time soon.
No such hiccups on this occasion but Symonds has a habit of staying in the news for the wrong reasons. Most Australians and Indians will be hard pressed to forget the fiasco of the Sydney Test. But Symonds’ past history of misdemeanours are threatening to seriously colour his sparkling cricket career.
Who needs reality television with characters like him around? Why Symonds was not halted from taking off without prior permission or not made aware of a possible team meeting is intriguing. For the Australian bench strength, he is another opportunity of another errant boy. It appeared even the Australian media and public is tiring of the antics, having already witnessed enough with Shane Warne and tolerance may be wearing thin.
Someone better tell Symonds, there is no such thing as off days.