Australian cricket great Andrew Symonds died in a single-vehicle car crash near the outskirts of the city of Townsville on Saturday night, the North Queensland Police confirmed.
The 46-year-old was driving on Hervey Range Road near Alice River Bridge shortly after 11 pm (local time) when his car left the road and rolled.
Emergency service workers attempted to revive the former cricketer, but he died at the scene.
Symonds’ family has also issued a statement “confirming his passing, and appreciated peoples’ sympathy and best wishes, and asked that their privacy should be respected”.
Symonds, lovingly known as ‘Roy’, played 26 Tests and 198 One-Day Internationals for Australia from 1998 to 2009.
A big-hitting batter, a witty bowler and a spotless fielder, Symonds was one of the best all-rounders of his era. While he was always full of promise, it was during the 2003 ODI World Cup that Symonds burst onto the scene, playing a match-winning knock of 143 against Pakistan.
Post retirement from professional cricket in February of 2012, Symonds started a career in sports commentary and broadcasting. He was a renowned figure for Fox Sports.
Symonds is the second famous Australian cricketer to tragically pass away in 2022 after champion leg-spinner Shane Warne, who died due to a heart attack in Thailand in March.
