The last few months have been quite challenging for Australian cricket. After Shane Warne‘s demise earlier this year, Australian cricket lost another legend in the form of star all-rounder Andrew Symonds. The 2-time world-cup winner passed away in a tragic car accident near Townsville in Queensland on Saturday night.
Destructive batter, handy off-spinner and medium pacer and an absolute livewire on the field, Symonds was one of the best white-ball cricketers world cricket has seen. He played in the golden era of Australian cricket and played a massive part in Australia’s dominance in the limited-overs format.
Apart from representing Australia, Symonds also appeared for Deccan Chargers and Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Similarly, in County Cricket, the Queenslander played for Kent, Lancashire, Surrey and Gloucestershire.
Among his friends and teammates, Symonds was popularly known as ‘Roy’, and the story regarding the nickname is quite interesting. Notably, the Western Australian got his sobriquet during childhood when his sports coach used to call him ‘Roy’ for his likeliness to former Basketball player Leroy Loggins. Leroy is a former American-Australian Basketballer who played in the National Basketball League from 1981 to 2001.
Symonds made his international debut in 1998 in the third ODI during the Australia tour of Pakistan. The Birmingham-born went on to play 198 ODIs, scoring 5088 runs with six hundreds and 30 half-centuries. He also picked up 133 wickets in the 50-over format, with 5/18 being his best figures. Symonds also played 26 Tests and 14 T20Is, scoring 1462 and 337 runs, respectively. The right-armer bagged 24 scalps in Tests and 8 in the shortest format.
“Australian cricket has lost another of its very best. Andrew was a generational talent who was instrumental in Australia’s success at World Cups and as part of Queensland’s rich cricket history. He was a cult figure to many, treasured by his fans and friends. Our deepest sympathies are with Andrew’s family, teammates, and friends on behalf of Australian cricket,” said Cricket Australia chairman Lachlan Henderson in an official statement.
