According to Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland, "the final straw" came when Symonds, 33, broke team rules related to alcohol and other issues. It is understood he went out early on Wednesday morning to watch the State of Origin rugby league with some team-mates and had a couple of drinks.
While not a serious offence, Symonds' alcohol consumption contravened his personal guidelines with Cricket Australia that were formed following his counselling sessions in the wake of a string of indiscretions. It is understood the restrictions left Symonds not knowing his place in the team.
"There's no doubting Andrew's capabilities as a player, but there are other things happening around him that made the decision we've come to a relatively easy one," said Ponting. "This is not wholly and solely about Andrew Symonds. This is about the Australian cricket team. We've got some young guys who are just finding out what international cricket is all about. This is about the bigger picture and bringing on the next generation of Australian players."
Though Symonds is not disputing the decision, he is apparently keen to tell his side of the story, and is expected to wait until he lands in Australia before speaking.
He attended a PCA dinner with the Twenty20 squad at a Kensington hotel on Wednesday night, but was a notable absentee at Australia's training session at The Oval on Thursday, prompting speculation that he was on his way home.
Following a series of misdemeanours in the past 12 months, Symonds was on a final warning from Cricket Australia, and there is the strong possibility that this latest incident will lead to the withdrawal of his central contract, which Sutherland admitted was "under review".
"Tonight we have also advised him that we will take the [contract] offer off the table at this stage."
Sutherland said at a press conference in Melbourne that Symonds had broken a number of rules "in the last 24-48 hours" and CA were now organising flights to get him back to Australia.
"In isolation, the breaches that I am talking about are not serious, but in the scheme of things, in the scheme of history, they are enough for it to be the final straw. I'm disappointed in Andrew, but I'm also disappointed for Andrew. I'm sad about it."
Symonds has been involved in numerous off-field incidents in recent seasons, most notably the Darwin fishing saga in August 2008, during which he missed a team meeting ahead of the one-day series against Bangladesh, which prompted the team management to send him home from the series.
In addition, he was fined Aus$4000 for a drunken radio interview in January 2009 in which he referred to the New Zealand wicketkeeper Brendan McCullum as "a piece of s..." Symonds apologised, having admitted that alcohol was playing a big part in his life, and he subsequently stated that he was "entering the final chapter of his career".
Despite retaining his central contract only last month, Symonds was omitted from Australia's Ashes squad in favour of Andrew McDonald and Shane Watson. After 26 Tests and 198 ODIs dating back to November 1998, it is hard to see how his career can possibly recover from this latest episode.
Cricket Australia confirmed that they had applied to the ICC technical committee to see if a replacement for Symonds is permitted. Should their application be successful, Moises Henriques and Cameron White are the likeliest candidates for a call-up.
Source:www.cricinfo.com
0 comments:
Post a Comment