Symonds sent home

[SJS]

Simmering Symonds ponders pulling the pin after falling out with teammates
Sydney Morning Herald

Symonds is seriously contemplating retirement. His relationship with senior Australian players is also fractured after he reacted furiously to being sent home from Darwin, exchanging heated words with stand-in captain Michael Clarke when told to pack his bags. He has not contacted any player in Darwin since flying back to Brisbane on Saturday, and a friend said Symonds was "angry, hurt and embarrassed".​

 

[honestbharani]

Its quite amusing to see a couple of the Aussie supporters here developing the "fan-boy" attitude that us sub-continental team supporters get blamed for so often......



And as to the matter at hand, the guy is no Steve Waugh or Ricky Ponting. If people seriously believe that because of his loss, the Aussie test side will suffer, then God help the Aussie team.. If the guy can't show the sort of basic discipline that one expects from an international pro, then cut him off... End of story. There is nothing to suggest he is any better as a cricketer than Shoaib Akhtar or Harbhajan Singh and even those guys got punishments when they trangressed the lines..

 

[social]

I am amazed that for a player who has repeatedly transgressed the line of discipline, who has clearly been taken to task on this before (his current manager says so, his current skipper says so, and his previous skipper put it in his book in very strong terms) and yet refuses to mend his ways, acts like a law unto himself and we want to talk of how good a player he is !!

Whats that got to do with it ?

Surely the time to consider that is past.

Surely he has survived his earlier misdemeanors BECAUSE of that consideration.

Surely those who are running Australian cricket, particularly the captain, past captain and manager (all three were directly involved with the current decision) are aware of his cricketing abilities.

Surely they have considered everything and YET feel that Symonds deserves the punishment meted out to him.

Surely there is no conspiracy to ruin his 'brilliant' cricketing career and actions are being taken detrimental to Australian cricket (which is what matters more than anything else) just to settle some personal scores or to pamper some individual (in this case three individuals) egos.

I can understand Symonds fans being upset with their hero being out of the game but surely, we cant lose complete sight of objectivity.

In any event, unlike the sub-continent, the Australian system surely has built in mechanisms to allow for a redressal of any grave injustice done to a cricketer (any cricketer irrespective of his statistics) and Symonds will surely appeal against it if that is the case.

All of that if fine and dandy but the fact remains that this decision has been taken without reference to his performances.

It's about when he's "ready to play" (whatever the hell that means) and the management has gone as far as to say that he'll be welcomed back when he's "100% committed"

Just how is he supposed to prove that?

100s, a couple of wickets and brilliant fielding in fc games wont cut it because they already know what he is capable of.

So it'll come down to interviews and counselling

Sorry but that is the greatest crock that I've ever heard

 

[social]

Its quite amusing to see a couple of the Aussie supporters here developing the "fan-boy" attitude that us sub-continental team supporters get blamed for so often......



And as to the matter at hand, the guy is no Steve Waugh or Ricky Ponting. If people seriously believe that because of his loss, the Aussie test side will suffer, then God help the Aussie team.. If the guy can't show the sort of basic discipline that one expects from an international pro, then cut him off... End of story. There is nothing to suggest he is any better as a cricketer than Shoaib Akhtar or Harbhajan Singh and even those guys got punishments when they trangressed the lines..

I think I'm a realist

Take a look at the Australian's batting over the last couple of series

Symonds and Hayden aside, it's been largely crap

Without Symonds in Sydney, India probably would've won the series and without him in WI, they would've probably lost a test to just about the worst major team in the world

Unfortunately, we're no longer in a situation where we have a conveyor belt of ready-made replacements

Is Symonds a great? No

Is he one of the top few players in the team at the moment? Undoubtedly

 

[pasag]

Its quite amusing to see a couple of the Aussie supporters here developing the "fan-boy" attitude that us sub-continental team supporters get blamed for so often......

Rubbish. Some of us just don't think the punishment fits the crime and there are better ways to go about dealing with these issues.

 

[dontcloseyoureyes]

Its quite amusing to see a couple of the Aussie supporters here developing the "fan-boy" attitude that us sub-continental team supporters get blamed for so often......

What?

Next time I see Aussie cricket fans burning effigies I'll let you know.

 

[honestbharani]

What?

Next time I see Aussie cricket fans burning effigies I'll let you know.

Rubbish. Some of us just don't think the punishment fits the crime and there are better ways to go about dealing with these issues.

I am talking about "here" as in CW.. And secondly, if the guy is not showing the sort of discipline one expects from a member of the Australian cricket team in the opinion of the men who matter (captain, coach, vice captain, other staff etc.), then they have every right to punish him as they see fit.

I understand your view in particular, pasag, but the fact of the matter is, I just cannot believe the likes of Clarke, Ponting, and Nielson will take such a decision unless this is seen as the "last straw" amongst a series of such incidents.. And the tone of most of these guys' interviews suggests to me that it may well be the case.. And lastly, Social saying this Aussie team is going to bite the dust simply because Symonds won't be around (and to an extent Pup11 seems to think the same, from my understanding of his posts, at least), does suggest a fan-boy attitude more than a balanced fan's PoV.. I am sorry, I just don't think Symonds is that good or that the Aussie batting line up (Hayden, Ponting, Clarke, Hussey) is that bad to be so dependent...

 

[pasag]

I am talking about "here" as in CW.. And secondly, if the guy is not showing the sort of discipline one expects from a member of the Australian cricket team in the opinion of the men who matter (captain, coach, vice captain, other staff etc.), then they have every right to punish him as they see fit.

I understand your view in particular, pasag, but the fact of the matter is, I just cannot believe the likes of Clarke, Ponting, and Nielson will take such a decision unless this is seen as the "last straw" amongst a series of such incidents.. And the tone of most of these guys' interviews suggests to me that it may well be the case.. And lastly, Social saying this Aussie team is going to bite the dust simply because Symonds won't be around (and to an extent Pup11 seems to think the same, from my understanding of his posts, at least), does suggest a fan-boy attitude more than a balanced fan's PoV.. I am sorry, I just don't think Symonds is that good or that the Aussie batting line up (Hayden, Ponting, Clarke, Hussey) is that bad to be so dependent...

All granted, but I don't see how having the opposite POV amounts to fanboyisim.

 

[honestbharani]

I think I'm a realist

Take a look at the Australian's batting over the last couple of series

Symonds and Hayden aside, it's been largely crap

Without Symonds in Sydney, India probably would've won the series and without him in WI, they would've probably lost a test to just about the worst major team in the world

Unfortunately, we're no longer in a situation where we have a conveyor belt of ready-made replacements

Is Symonds a great? No

Is he one of the top few players in the team at the moment? Undoubtedly

I agree that he has been vital to the Aussie side, but I do think that even without him, it is still a really good batting line up with Hayden, Hussey, Ponting and Clarke in there...

 

[sanga1337]

I agree that he has been vital to the Aussie side, but I do think that even without him, it is still a really good batting line up with Hayden, Hussey, Ponting and Clarke in there...

Don't forget Katich who looked in good form against the Windies

 

[honestbharani]

All granted, but I don't see how having the opposite POV amounts to fanboyisim.

well, I guess I did exaggerate a bit there... But when you see how some of the sub-continental posters are pillared for posting similar stuff about certain other players.....


Anyways, if it matters this much.. I take back the "fan boy" comment, although I really don't see how else you can explain them overstating his importance by this much.

 

[pasag]

well, I guess I did exaggerate a bit there... But when you see how some of the sub-continental posters are pillared for posting similar stuff about certain other players.....


Anyways, if it matters this much.. I take back the "fan boy" comment, although I really don't see how else you can explain them overstating his importance by this much.

Well he is very important. It won't be a catastrophe if he doesn't play because of the likes of Watson, Katich etc who can take his place, but he's an in form batsman who does well in pressure situations, he offers a fifth bowling option and is the best fielder in the world. All these things are necessary in what will be one of our toughest tours.

 

[honestbharani]

Well he is very important. It won't be a catastrophe if he doesn't play because of the likes of Watson, Katich etc who can take his place, but he's an in form batsman who does well in pressure situations, he offers a fifth bowling option and is the best fielder in the world. All these things are necessary in what will be one of our toughest tours.

Hardly.. "we r gonna lose coz he s not there" stuff though, is it???



And IMO, he is nowhere near as good a fifth bowling option as Watson, esp. as a spinner...

 

[Craig]

I found it pretty funny when Symonds was told to GAGF that one of his sponsors Solo where having a competition to win a fishing weekend with Symonds up in Darwin.

 

[pup11]

I am talking about "here" as in CW.. And secondly, if the guy is not showing the sort of discipline one expects from a member of the Australian cricket team in the opinion of the men who matter (captain, coach, vice captain, other staff etc.), then they have every right to punish him as they see fit.

I understand your view in particular, pasag, but the fact of the matter is, I just cannot believe the likes of Clarke, Ponting, and Nielson will take such a decision unless this is seen as the "last straw" amongst a series of such incidents.. And the tone of most of these guys' interviews suggests to me that it may well be the case.. And lastly, Social saying this Aussie team is going to bite the dust simply because Symonds won't be around (and to an extent Pup11 seems to think the same, from my understanding of his posts, at least), does suggest a fan-boy attitude more than a balanced fan's PoV.. I am sorry, I just don't think Symonds is that good or that the Aussie batting line up (Hayden, Ponting, Clarke, Hussey) is that bad to be so dependent...

Look man, i am not saying Aussie test team would suffer minus Symmo, on the contrary i have gone on record and said that i don't rate him at all as a test cricketer, but on e can't argue against his record in test cricket over the last two years (no matter how much fortune he might have had, he still has made a solid contribution to the test side).
What myself and some of the other Australian fans here are saying is that Symonds has be handed over with a harsh punishment considering the crime he has done, of course as you said this punishment could have also been for the previous incidents he was involved in, but imo he should have been punished for those incidents then and there, in appropriation to his crimes, as far i am concerned he should have been sent home, when he turned up drunk for the Bangladesh game at Cardiff.

 

[pup11]

Symonds determined to fight back
Well good to hear that, atleast he still desires to comeback at the international level, going by a few reports i read this morning his chances of making a comeback looked pretty bleak.

 

[honestbharani]

Look man, i am not saying Aussie test team would suffer minus Symmo, on the contrary i have gone on record and said that i don't rate him at all as a test cricketer, but on e can't argue against his record in test cricket over the last two years (no matter how much fortune he might have had, he still has made a solid contribution to the test side).
What myself and some of the other Australian fans here are saying is that Symonds has be handed over with a harsh punishment considering the crime he has done, of course as you said this punishment could have also been for the previous incidents he was involved in, but imo he should have been punished for those incidents then and there, in appropriation to his crimes, as far i am concerned he should have been sent home, when he turned up drunk for the Bangladesh game at Cardiff.

well... in that case, make that one Aussie supporter here instead of "a couple" in my original post..


apologies.. But I still don't think he is THAT important and if his indiscipline was viewed to be such a serious issue by the leadership group, then I think, it is only fair that they have cut him off for it... As I said, it seems as though this punishment is not for this incident alone, but rather because this is the final one in a series of incidents and as such, AFAIC, he completely deserves the treatment he is getting..


He never stuck me as a nice type of guy anyways.. Always got the feeling he enjoyed being antagonistic and I guess, his team mates don't really enjoy it when he does it to them rather than the opposition..

 

[pasag]

Hardly.. "we r gonna lose coz he s not there" stuff though, is it???



And IMO, he is nowhere near as good a fifth bowling option as Watson, esp. as a spinner...

Well for us to win what will be our biggest challenge in years, we need everything to go perfectly. Against Bangladesh, as we can see, something like won't cause any problems, for one of the hardest tours in world cricket however, that won't be the case.

 

[honestbharani]

Well for us to win what will be our biggest challenge in years, we need everything to go perfectly. Against Bangladesh, as we can see, something like won't cause any problems, for one of the hardest tours in world cricket however, that won't be the case.

The difficulty of an Indian tour is greatly exaggerated these days. Apart from the odd turner, we get mostly flat tracks, our spinners aren't as good as they used to be and neither is our famed middle order.. In the last two years or so, India has been as good a place to tour as any for most overseas teams, IMO.


And honestly, IF Australia can play with the sort of purpose they showed in 2004, they can still take this series fairly comfortably, even if they don't have as much of the talented personnel as they did back then.....

 

[pup11]

Hardly.. "we r gonna lose coz he s not there" stuff though, is it???



And IMO, he is nowhere near as good a fifth bowling option as Watson, esp. as a spinner...

Its not only about whether he is good enough, its also about what's fair, what's happening with him atm isn't fair, he has been asked to serve a 3 Odi ban which he is doing, and he doesn't even get to tell his side of the story, all that is still ok, but for Australian team-management to say we're willing to have him back whenever he thinks he's ready, why are the Aussie team-management making all the fuss for, as soon this series is over, Symonds should be back in the team with a warning that, if he repeats something like this again then your international cricket days are over, why complicate such a situation.
People like Harbhajan and Akthar physically assaulted their team-mates and they served a certain ban, and when their bans were over (in Akthar' case ban a life-ban was overturned) they were back in the team, now how were they able to prove to their respective boards that they won't do something like that in the future.