The previous few months have been fairly difficult 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 within the limited-overs format.
Apart from representing Australia, Symonds additionally appeared for Deccan Chargers and Mumbai Indians within the Indian Premier League (IPL). Similarly, in County Cricket, the Queenslander performed for Kent, Lancashire, Surrey and Gloucestershire.
Among his associates and teammates, Symonds was popularly identified as ‘Roy’, and the story concerning the nickname is kind of attention-grabbing. Notably, the Western Australian received his sobriquet throughout childhood when his sports activities coach used to name him ‘Roy’ for his likeliness to former Basketball participant Leroy Loggins. Leroy is a former American-Australian Basketballer who performed within the National Basketball League from 1981 to 2001.
Symonds made his worldwide debut in 1998 within the third ODI in the course of the Australia tour of Pakistan. The Birmingham-born went on to play 198 ODIs, scoring 5088 runs with six a whole bunch and 30 half-centuries. He additionally picked up 133 wickets within the 50-over format, with 5/18 being his greatest figures. Symonds additionally performed 26 Tests and 14 T20Is, scoring 1462 and 337 runs, respectively. The right-armer bagged 24 scalps in Tests and eight within 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,” mentioned Cricket Australia chairman Lachlan Henderson in an official assertion.