Symonds sent home

[four_or_six]

Surely if, as you're saying, there's nothing for them to make a fuss about (and given he's a central player in the team)... why would they?

Two of Symonds' biggest supporters over the years (Ponting and Clarke) have decided there's a problem he needs to sort out, surely they're the best placed to judge?

 

[honestbharani]

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.

I don't think there has been any GAG order placed on Symonds.. I guess he is more than free to tell his side of the story IF he feels like it...


And secondly, as four_or_six said, Ponting and Clarke are perhaps ppl who know him much better than any of us here but even they are saying he has problems. So I guess this goes a lot deeper than just him missing a mandatory team meeting.


As the saying goes in the corporate world, it is about solving the "problem", not the "symptom"... Here, him missing the mandatory team meeting is more the "symptom" than the "problem".. Or at least, that is the feeling I get reading reports on this issue.

 

[pasag]

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.....

I agree it's exaggerated to a minor extent but it's no walk in the park especially against a resurgent India (Sri Lanka shenanigans aside). We're going in with virtually no spinner of note, third seamer issues and we recently struggled against the West Indies of all nations.

 

[pup11]

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.....

But still there's a lot that a foreign player needs to acclimatise to, in order to do well in not only in India, but also in Sri lanka and Pakistan, they need to get used to the weather, cultural differences, pitch conditions, etc, all these factors also play a big factor in making a tour to the sub-continent so tough for a foreign team, anyways i agree with the main part of your post though, that beating India in India isn't as tough as it used to be, but still it ain't an easy feat.

 

[pup11]

I don't think there has been any GAG order placed on Symonds.. I guess he is more than free to tell his side of the story IF he feels like it...


And secondly, as four_or_six said, Ponting and Clarke are perhaps ppl who know him much better than any of us here but even they are saying he has problems. So I guess this goes a lot deeper than just him missing a mandatory team meeting.


As the saying goes in the corporate world, it is about solving the "problem", not the "symptom"... Here, him missing the mandatory team meeting is more the "symptom" than the "problem".. Or at least, that is the feeling I get reading reports on this issue.

What Symonds does in his personal life is not important unless that starts effecting his performance on-field, but if Clarke (who is probably the only reason why he is still playing international cricket) and Ponting think he has a problem, then my question is what were they waiting for all this time, he should have been punished for whatever he did at that very time, then to a certain extent they have helped his problem grow to these proportions, by not nipping the problem in its bud.

 

[four_or_six]

What Symonds does in his personal life is not important unless that starts effecting his performance on-field, but if Clarke (who is probably the only reason why he is still playing international cricket) and Ponting think he has a problem, then my question is what were they waiting for all this time, he should have been punished for whatever he did at that very time, then to a certain extent they have helped his problem grow to these proportions, by not nipping the problem in its bud.

I kind of assumed that he has been spoken to about things before this. He was certainly fined for being late in the WI and I presume he got some kind of verbal warning then.

 

[Precambrian]

What Symonds does in his personal life is not important unless that starts effecting his performance on-field, but if Clarke (who is probably the only reason why he is still playing international cricket) and Ponting think he has a problem, then my question is what were they waiting for all this time, he should have been punished for whatever he did at that very time, then to a certain extent they have helped his problem grow to these proportions, by not nipping the problem in its bud.

Or perhaps Ponting is jus miffed at Symonds fetching triple what he fetched at the IPL and was waiting for an opp. to get square?

 

[Son Of Coco]

In breaking news it seems there was more to Symond's indiscretion than originally thought...from this months Period Review:

It seems there is indeed more to the Andrew Symonds saga than meets the eye. While Symonds is currently at home cooling his heels in the wake of another fishing debacle, sources onboard the fishing charter boat that fateful day have revealed the shenanigans that unfolded during the devastating fishing trip that has left the Australian cricket family possibly mourning the loss of another great at an early age. It seems Symonds not only defied team management by not turning up to a compulsory team meeting, he also defied National Fishing Association regulations by catching 8 fish that were later found to be undersized. Symonds tried to excuse his behaviour when meeting with the team leadership group by saying he'd caught 6 of them one-handed and parallel with the ground and had therefore technically attended an unofficial team practice of his own making. He later described fellow teammates as 'lacking a sense of humour'. We're currently investigating reports from the team hotel that Symonds was so furious as he left for Brisbane after the disastrous meeting that he destroyed precious native flora in the hotel grounds before storming into the bushes and having his way with a family of bilbies. Tune in tonight to 'A Current Affair' to see an exclusive interview with the bilby family

 

[pup11]

Or perhaps Ponting is jus miffed at Symonds fetching triple what he fetched at the IPL and was waiting for an opp. to get square?

Yeah, sure why not??

 

[GIMH]

Son of Coco -

 

[pup11]

In breaking news it seems there was more to Symond's indiscretion than originally thought...from this months Period Review:

It seems there is indeed more to the Andrew Symonds saga than meets the eye. While Symonds is currently at home cooling his heels in the wake of another fishing debacle, sources onboard the fishing charter boat that fateful day have revealed the shenanigans that unfolded during the devastating fishing trip that has left the Australian cricket family possibly mourning the loss of another great at an early age. It seems Symonds not only defied team management by not turning up to a compulsory team meeting, he also defied National Fishing Association regulations by catching 8 fish that were later found to be undersized. Symonds tried to excuse his behaviour when meeting with the team leadership group by saying he'd caught 6 of them one-handed and parallel with the ground and had therefore technically attended an unofficial team practice of his own making. He later described fellow teammates as 'lacking a sense of humour'. We're currently investigating reports from the team hotel that Symonds was so furious as he left for Brisbane after the disastrous meeting that he destroyed precious native flora in the hotel grounds before storming into the bushes and having his way with a family of bilbies. Tune in tonight to 'A Current Affair' to see an exclusive interview with the bilby family

A serious lol @ that.

 

[honestbharani]

What Symonds does in his personal life is not important unless that starts effecting his performance on-field, but if Clarke (who is probably the only reason why he is still playing international cricket) and Ponting think he has a problem, then my question is what were they waiting for all this time, he should have been punished for whatever he did at that very time, then to a certain extent they have helped his problem grow to these proportions, by not nipping the problem in its bud.

First of all, not showing up for meetings and not behaving as expected in a team environ can be considered as "affecting your performance on the field".. And second of all, the reason why maybe Punter and Clarke never acted before this was probably because they thought they would give him another chance.. Hence I (and others) have used the word "The last straw" in reference to him missing the meeting.


It is pretty simple basically. As far as I can understand, Symonds has had issues with his behaviour in the side and his attitude towards his team mates and the team in general before this, with various instances happening, both on and off the media glare. Ponting and the others have been willing to give him some leeway considering his immense talent as a cricketer and the value he adds to the side. But this is probably the last straw and so now they are dishing him out the punishment that he perhaps deserved earlier..

 

[pup11]

First of all, not showing up for meetings and not behaving as expected in a team environ can be considered as "affecting your performance on the field".. And second of all, the reason why maybe Punter and Clarke never acted before this was probably because they thought they would give him another chance.. Hence I (and others) have used the word "The last straw" in reference to him missing the meeting.


It is pretty simple basically. As far as I can understand, Symonds has had issues with his behaviour in the side and his attitude towards his team mates and the team in general before this, with various instances happening, both on and off the media glare. Ponting and the others have been willing to give him some leeway considering his immense talent as a cricketer and the value he adds to the side. But this is probably the last straw and so now they are dishing him out the punishment that he perhaps deserved earlier..

I don't think any Australian player has a problem with him as an individual, as all of them gone on record and said how good a guy he is to have in the team, but his indiscipline sets a bad precedent for other junior members of the squad that i agree, but as you said the punishment he has got now should have handed over earlier to him and by doing so, many incidents involving Symonds "could" have been avoided, for Symonds this is the worst time for something like this to happen to him , his test career was flourishing after years of toiling hard work, but i hope this instance makes him wiser.

 

[Precambrian]

I don't think any Australian player has a problem with him as an individual, as all of them gone on record and said how good a guy he is to have in the team, but his indiscipline sets a bad precedent for other junior members of the squad that i agree, but as you said the punishment he has got now should have handed over earlier to him and by doing so, many incidents involving Symonds "could" have been avoided, for Symonds this is the worst time for something like this to happen to him , his test career was flourishing after years of toiling hard work, but i hope this instance makes him wiser.

I think the guy got a bit carried away with the IPL riches, the attention etc, and he just wanted some time on his own, and unfortunately just chose the wrong time. Hopefully, he'll be back in his elements. Cricket will be poorer without serene souls like him and Harbhajan and Sreesanth. Oh and Akthar.

 

[honestbharani]

I don't think any Australian player has a problem with him as an individual, as all of them gone on record and said how good a guy he is to have in the team, but his indiscipline sets a bad precedent for other junior members of the squad that i agree, but as you said the punishment he has got now should have handed over earlier to him and by doing so, many incidents involving Symonds "could" have been avoided, for Symonds this is the worst time for something like this to happen to him , his test career was flourishing after years of toiling hard work, but i hope this instance makes him wiser.

There is no right time for these type of actions, though, is there?


It is always either too early or too late....

 

[pup11]

There is no right time for these type of actions, though, is there?


It is always either too early or too late....

Yeah, maybe that's true.

 

[four_or_six]

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24284568-5015684,00.html

I am totally in two minds about this article. I'm 50% sympathetic to the players, 50% thinking I'm sure plenty of people would love a few months off paid when they've had stress in their lives but they have to deal with it.

I'm not really sure what to think.

 

[howardj]

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

Frankly, you have no idea what considerations were taken into account. I'd actually back men like Ponting to make a decision about this (someone who has been around Australian cricket for 15 years and knows how a successful team works) than someone who would treat Andrew Symonds like Shoaib Akhtar and let him do as he pleases.

 

[howardj]

More evidence that he's a mongrel of a man. lol

The huge money, attention and demands on his time have started to turn Andrew Symonds the good-fun, knockabout, bar-smart ocker with the quick line and infectious laugh into Symonds the self-indulgent smart-arse. Two of his former team-mates were stunned last summer when Symonds told them not to go into the Australian dressing room.

Symonds has a moody side and like too many footballers of various codes, alcohol and Symonds are a bad mix.
He has regularly confronted me in bars, usually during team celebrations.

Having travelled to all of cricket's most difficult and dangerous locations over the past two decades I have only felt physically threatened twice.

The other was when Symonds saw me in a bar during the 2004 Sri Lanka tour and shaped up before team security grabbed him and moved him on.

I am convinced the main reason CA has permanent team security is to act as a minder for Symonds. By sending him home his team-mates and CA officials have probably saved Symonds from himself.

 

[Top_Cat]

More evidence that he's a mongrel of a man. lol

The huge money, attention and demands on his time have started to turn Andrew Symonds the good-fun, knockabout, bar-smart ocker with the quick line and infectious laugh into Symonds the self-indulgent smart-arse. Two of his former team-mates were stunned last summer when Symonds told them not to go into the Australian dressing room.

Symonds has a moody side and like too many footballers of various codes, alcohol and Symonds are a bad mix.
He has regularly confronted me in bars, usually during team celebrations.

Having travelled to all of cricket's most difficult and dangerous locations over the past two decades I have only felt physically threatened twice.

The other was when Symonds saw me in a bar during the 2004 Sri Lanka tour and shaped up before team security grabbed him and moved him on.

I am convinced the main reason CA has permanent team security is to act as a minder for Symonds. By sending him home his team-mates and CA officials have probably saved Symonds from himself.

Symonds is probably a dick. Articles like this are trash, though. The last parts are particularly egregious, don't find them particularly professional.

The part about him being physically confronted is the bit which surprises me and makes me wonder why Symonds would take such a dislike. I've been out and seen Symonds around the Adelaide pub scene quite a few times. In a big group with his mates (rowdy types like Andy Bichel and Jimmy Maher), Symonds was always that bloke either having a quiet convo with someone or sitting in a corner sipping his beer. Can tell you the whole group was usually getting sauced and pretty billigerent and certainly Symonds would get louder as he got drunker but never too bad, certainly nothing compared to some of the places I've been. If Malcolm Conn is threatened by Symonds', I'd suggest it's not without reason.