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Andrew Symonds brings gusto to whatever he does, whether firing down offbreaks or mediums, hurling his ungainly bulk round the field or vigorously ruffling the bowler's hair at the celebration of a wicket. He saves his loudest grunt for his batting, where he is that rarest of modern-day creatures - an unabashed six-hitter in the mould of a George Bonnor or a Colin Milburn or a David Hookes. Batting for Gloucestershire at 20, he scythed 16 sixes in the first dig [a world record] against Glamorgan at Abergavenny, 20 for the match [another first], and then announced he couldn't care less about the milestone; he wanted only to help his team. He has been matter-of-factly demolishing attacks ever since. His flaw has been to attempt one six too many - invariably off the wrong ball.
"I used to hate watching him bat," his old coach Toot Byron once lamented. "He wasn't in control of his shot-selection ... he'd get 24 off an over and then go out on the last ball of that over." Legend has it that Symonds, a dreadlocked Queensland larrikin, once turned up barefoot and wearing a cowboy hat for a contract meeting with Cricket Australia's then-chief executive Malcolm Speed. He also graciously ruled himself ineligible for any award at the 2006 Allan Border Medal - he would have been the One-Day Player of the Year - after being suspended for turning up drunk before Australia's embarrassing loss to Bangladesh on the 2005 Ashes tour.
During almost five years in and out of the one-day side he frittered away golden opportunities galore. One day changed everything. Striding out with his team in turmoil against Pakistan in the 2003 World Cup, a game and tournament he never expected to play in, Symonds sculpted a masterly 143 not out in 125 balls. Until that day, he had mustered just 762 one-day runs at only 23; ever since he has averaged more than 45 and become a hero to the masses. "In the past," he admits, "I was a man without a map when I went out to bat." Now he understands his one-day role perfectly - he could have claimed to be the side's most valuable player after pounding three hundreds and taking 21 wickets in 2005-06. His impact to the limited-overs outfit was shown the following season after he ripped a tendon from his arm playing a fierce drive. Without him the team struggled to its worst losing streak in a decade. Symonds proved he was an incredibly quick healer by entering the World Cup mid-tournament and was part of his second consecutive triumph.
Born in Birmingham, Symonds could have played for England but dreamed only of wearing the baggy green. In 2004 his fantasy was fulfilled in decidedly unGabbalike surroundings: the crackling minefields of Sri Lanka. He batted gamely without looking altogether comfortable, and was dumped after two Tests. Almost two years later he received an extended run as Australia's selectors searched for an answer to Andrew Flintoff, but he couldn't consistently mirror his one-day performances. Faced with the axe, he cracked a huge six at the MCG to open his scoring in a pressure-relieving 72 from 54 balls, which included a ground-record five maximums, but was dropped on the Bangladesh tour after struggling for reliable impact in the previous series against South Africa. Given another opportunity when Shane Watson was injured and Damien Martyn retired, he appeared in his first Ashes series and reached a career high in his second game with 156 at the MCG. Batting with his fishing friend Matthew Hayden, he showed he had the mindset to make it.
The past year has been easily his best, with 777 runs in nine Tests against Sri Lanka, India and West Indies. The high was an unbeaten 162 in the first innings at the SCG, which was quickly followed by the low of a lengthy race row involving Harbhajan Singh. The problems did not prevent him becoming the most popular overseas player at the Indian Premier League auction, where he sold for US$1.35m, and he had four games with the Deccan Chargers. After the tournament he switched back into five-day mode and a pair of half-centuries in the tight opening contest with West Indies showed his growing batting maturity and sense of security at Test level. By the end of the campaign his average was a respectable 44.65. However, his off-field attitude continued to be a problem and the last straw came when he went fishing in Darwin when he should have been at a team meeting in the lead-up to an ODI series against Bangladesh. Symonds was sent home from the series and not picked for the tour of India in late 2008, although he declared himself keen to return to the top level via state cricket.
Personal Favourites
-My Childhood Ambition: Professional sport was always a big focus for me in both cricket and rugby league. If I didn’t make it in sport I would have worked on a property in the country and loved it!
-My Most Admired Cricketer: Viv Richards, I loved his approach to the game.
-My Memorable Achievement: Winning the IPL this year would have to be right up there. Being part of a successful team working together is very rewarding.
-My Dream Vehicle: Ford Ranger
-My Favourite food: Seafood, it’s better too when you have caught it yourself!
-My Best moments of IPL – 2: Both IPL tournaments have been amazing, obviously winning this year was great to be part of and the support from the crowds was a big part of it.
Comments
SHOAIB MAQSUSI IS BEST
SHOAIB MAQSUSI IS BEST BOWLER
HELLO ROY, I'M A BIG FAN OF
HELLO ROY, I'M A BIG FAN OF U. AUSTRALIA MISSING U IN ASHES BUT I HOPE U WILL PLAY IN CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FOR CHARGERS.
Symmo man you are a superb
Symmo man you are a superb batsman....keep rocking in the finals and get us the Cup buddy..
SCORE MORE RUNS TO WIN THIS
SCORE MORE RUNS TO WIN THIS IPL-2
ALL THE BEST
SYMMO WIN IPL09 FOR
SYMMO WIN IPL09 FOR HYDERABAD.......
Hi Symonds, Today is our
Hi Symonds,
Today is our Semi final with Deridevils, hope u play well hit the ball har and give us a big win win over Delhi. And made it to Final, bring IPL 2009 to Hyderabad. I am eagerly weaighting for the trophy. Ur well wisher. Md. Ayub
hi. Sir u've shown ONE SHOW
hi. Sir u've shown ONE SHOW against RC in 1st session whn they are 3 wkts down for 5 overs. If u want to make .. u'll make it .. tatz what we want again from you against RCB ,SEM'S & in FINAL. I hope u'll be here in hyd with trophy b4r going to london. ANDREW SYMONDS(BULL IN CHARGE) plz make us tag proved "UNSTOPPABLE". ALL THE BEST!!!
Hey Symonds plzzzzzzzz give
Hey Symonds plzzzzzzzz give your full support to DC team to win the IPL2 Trophy.
Welcome back Symonds... No
Welcome back Symonds... No offences but...
I think he should stop bowling...
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh god
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh god finnaly ur gng 2 play diz ipl its really grt news and even HAPPY NEWS 4R ALL FANS.THANK U VRY MUCH SYMONDS.
grt welcome to u.v want to see d CENTUARY 4rm u common rock d pitch .all d vry best.PRACTICE WELL.
GOOOOOOO SYMMO GOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
Roy! At last you have come.
Roy! At last you have come. We were missing you in the middle order. Now that you have come, no one can stop THE BULL RAGE.... Beware of the DCs
Oh!!!!! Great news of your
Oh!!!!! Great news of your coming back to DC...I shocked to see you were not there in the team on the 1st day. Great entertainment with your play, wanna see more 4s and 6s this time too.
COMON SYMMO PAK UR BAG!!!V R
COMON SYMMO PAK UR BAG!!!V R WAITIN HERE.....smak opponent wid ur huge sixers..hope u do ur best........nywayz symmo will b bak wid a bang
hi symonds i'm really
hi symonds i'm really waiting waiting waitinggggggggg a lot to see u in d evry game but ur not ?wht hapnd 2u.plz cme soon.its really vry grt to see u hitting huge sixers and thrilling 4rs plzzzzzzzzz v need u cme on sooooooon i'm expecting u in d evry game but ur not its vry disappointing me a lot.really i want u 2 see u on todayz game plzzzzzzzzz cme.all d vry bst.
dude where are ya??
dude where are ya??
Symmmoo missing you in the
Symmmoo missing you in the line up ....
hi,symonds i am indresh.i am
hi,symonds i am indresh.i am a great fan of u.you did very well last year. i expect a lot from you this year.
hi symo.im ur grt fan.iluv
hi symo.im ur grt fan.iluv u
hit a century in every match and show wat u and chargers are.v miss u 22 much
hi symmo, i am your great
hi symmo, i am your great fan, and am anxiously looking for for number of hundreds you will score in ipl-2, all the best
ok i will make it for you
ok i will make it for you
gilly the worlds greatest
gilly the worlds greatest wicketkeeper batsmen has mastered cricket and is ready for a battle. In which we are going to win.
symo we r waitin for
symo we r waitin for u!!!!!!!!
u r gonna lift de spirits of chargers....
symonds hit huge sixes but
symonds hit huge sixes but do not bowl
hi symo, we are missing you
hi symo, we are missing you man.
Symmo, You are ana mazing
Symmo,
You are ana mazing cricketer. We all love you soo much. Keep playing your normal cricket. We would love to watch it that way.
Great
u r the one of the great
u r the one of the great charges for the team ..........so,best of luck and kick all of the apponents
I am tongue tied. Silence is
I am tongue tied. Silence is the best reply. On one hand, you hit the fastest IPL century... on the other hand, you give away 30 runs in a singly over... On one hand, you hit 117 out of 214 for the team (great! I love you for that) on the other hand, you let a great victory slip right out of our hands giving away 18(?) runs in the last over... couldn't blame it on you... Warne would have hit it any way (or would he have?) Mixed.. Keep hitting the way you did.. don't bowl until you can bowl better... Go Symonds!
hi symo dont short pitch the
hi symo dont short pitch the ball ,aim at legs.
dude, it isn't that
dude, it isn't that simple... aiming for the legs? a talented bowler gets wickets... and aiming for the legs isn't a way to do that. I'd advise Symonds to adopt a Shahid-like mixed, unpredictable style...
Hi symo you were exellent
Hi symo you were exellent ILL be happy if you hit another hundred
Symonds you are awesome in
Symonds you are awesome in batting and also a good medium pace bowler, I did not understand why did you opt for off spin bowling ... Is it becos of Shewags hard hitting??? Shewag is a dangereous player, if it wasn't you and someone else bowling, he would have hit the same ... You should still stick to your medium face and have to do alot of variations in bowling ... You are a gifted allrounder to DC and you should have faith in your medium pace bowling ... Would love to see you making another 100 soon :)
Roy needs to stop bowling
Roy needs to stop bowling shitty medium pace and get back to his spinners that won us tests last Summer! Getting hit for 30 an over is doing you no good mate!
I love you symo and you
I love you symo and you play very well!!!!!! WE WILL WE WILL WIN
symonds hit the ball with
symonds hit the ball with good batspeed,just like sewag.kill the ball ,do it
for deccan chargers.
Hey Andrew! We really expect
Hey Andrew! We really expect a lot more of 4s n 6s frm u ...There seemed a loss of aggression in ur batting! Pls dnt let that happen coz sports depends on practice, strategy and aggression.. Dnt loose it! We all love u .. Play well n we know u'll do so!!
All the best..
Just go murder 'em Roy, u r
Just go murder 'em Roy, u r the best.
secrets of symonds ,reading
secrets of symonds ,reading the pitch,playing with patience.you will win the
game for us iam sure.all the best.
lrt the chargers charge. may
lrt the chargers charge. may ur bat be ur magic wand. u r our hope. the deccan chargers' hope. play ur best. let no ball get past u.
Hey Symmo..... All the best
Hey Symmo.....
All the best for the game...
Hit the ball out of the ground and make a BULL's sound...!!! ;)
Let them hear it and run all around...!!!
Play for us, play for Hyderabad. We will WIN!!! (of course).
You're the fully charged real BULL of the team! We are with you!
ROY, Make all IPL players
ROY, Make all IPL players remember U with your All round Skills... You are the BEST... and WE (Hydrabadies are Behind YOU) ....... BEST OF Luck
symonds is theman and the
symonds is theman and the hyderabadis are his fan
Best of luck for the series
Best of luck for the series symo
Keep rocking
from
a fan from India
east or west symonds is the
east or west symonds is the best. you had your own technique.
Watz UP Roy! This is your
Watz UP Roy! This is your FAN from Adelaide just want to wish you good luck with IPL and PLzzz hit as many SiXeS as you can (make it 7 in 6 balls)! Make sure Afridi doesn't win over you in hitting more sixes.
You'r really just unstoppable!
allrounder symonds, you have
allrounder symonds, you have a great attitude in the field and off the field.that's
why you are a confident man.
You are the best. Opponent
You are the best. Opponent hates you! Hyderabadi loves you!
all the best to u in IPL.i
all the best to u in IPL.i think all the DC fans r with u.u have the best in IPL.i expect this IPL to be a cakewalk for u.so..STOMP OVER EVERYBODY n prove ur worth!!!!!Good luck Symmo!!!!
Hello symonds ,you are my
Hello symonds ,you are my icon for the IPL hyderabad.all are hoping that you can win the matches for hyderabad.good luck.
Hi Roy, Hyderabad IPL
Hi Roy,
Hyderabad IPL welcomes You....
Roy Rock the Tour Like None in the Past N Rewrite the history of 20-20...Have some Spicy Biryani n Show us some spicy Cricket..............
Hii Symo...it is said 2 be a
Hii Symo...it is said 2 be a universal fact dat u simply just rock in cricket watever maybe da format....n so we xpect u 2 be da same when you r playing for da Hyderabadi team....we all r a very big support for u ....so jus go ahead go rock da show.....enjoy your play here.....n if possible hamare liye woh cup lana(ask any hindi speaking guy to know the meaning(because this is from the bottom of our hearts))