A free-spirited Oz all-rounder who was beyond stats
Hindustan Times|May 16, 2022
NEW DELHI: Australian cricket's cup of grief is overflowing. The latest shocking news was former all-rounder Andrew Symonds's death on Saturday night after the car he was driving crashed in Queensland.
N Ananthanarayanan
A free-spirited Oz all-rounder who was beyond stats

He was 46 and is survived by his wife and two young children.

Symonds played 26 Tests, 198 ODIs, and 14 T20Is in an eleven-year career from 1998 to 2009. Born in Birmingham, he spurned the chance to play for England and picked Australia. His numbers could have been much more, but the free-spirited player was about impact, not longevity. And he often fell afoul of cricket officialdom, ending his Australia career early.

But the man nicknamed Roy wasn't just about numbers. He was an assurance like few others, as Ricky Ponting, who led him to two ODI World Cups in 2003 and 2007, and Adam Gilchrist, who featured in both those triumphs and many more, tweeted.

"If Roy shook your hand, you had his word, that's the sort of bloke he was and that's why I always wanted him on my team,” Ponting, coaching Delhi Capitals in IPL, tweeted in his tribute. Gilchrist wrote: “Think of your most loyal, fun, loving friend who would do anything for you. That's Roy."

This story is from the May 16, 2022 edition of Hindustan Times.

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This story is from the May 16, 2022 edition of Hindustan Times.

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