Andrew “Roy” Symonds: Gone too soon

In a day of mixed emotions, the sporting fraternity in India and Australia, celebrated the historic and maiden badminton win at the Thomas Cup, and mourned the loss of one of Australia’s most impactful cricketers — Andrew “Roy” Symonds — in a car crash in Townsville, North Queensland at the age of 46. He is survived by two kids and wife Laura.

For the world of cricket, especially Australia, it is like an unending bad dream. Last year, Australia witnessed the passing away of Dean Jones, and in 2022, Rodney Marsh and Shane Warne in a span of 24 hours. And now Andrew Symonds! Many astrologers and pundits in India would be recommending some puja or prayers to calm planets and smother their ill-effects on Australian cricket. But for now, the cricket tragics in India and the world over are in a very somber mood hearing of this shocking news early morning.

With India, Roy has had a love hate relationship, which culminated in the 2008 “Monkey Gate” controversy during the 2008 Sydney test, which turned out to be a turning point in his T20s (337 runs and 8 wickets). He scored 6 centuries and 24 fifties in his ODI career, including the swashbuckling 143 off 125 balls against Pakistan, in the 2003 world cup, when the top order had collapsed. He played a sheet anchor roll in Australia’s two cricket world cup wins in 2003 and 2007. His county record of 16 sixes in an innings against Gloucestershire remained unbroken for 20 years, and he always was a live wire on the field with his sharp fielding and golden arm bowling. As a batsman he was regarded as a game-changer by his opponents.

Roy was a fighter, and his biography’s co-author Stephen Gray (Roy: Going for the Broke) shared that once he was on a fishing trip in 1999,

career, largely mentally. After Harbhajan Singh’s exoneration— which Roy believed was due to Cricket Australia buckling under the BCCI pressure— he never could fully recover. Over time, many of his diehard mates, including Captain Ricky Ponting, Matthew Hayden and Bulls mate James Hopes among others, were seeing changes creeping in his personality, public conduct and lifestyle to his detriment. Roy played his last game in 2009, and retired from all forms in 2012. In 2005 and 2009 he was been dropped from the squad over alcohol related incidents, something which became a recurring theme.

His redemption, though, came in 2011 when during the IPL a tearful Harbhajan Singh hugged him and buried the hatchet, and both moved past the Monkeygate saga. By then it was a tad too late for him career wise. He was the second most expensive player to be auctioned after M. S. Dhoni in the history of IPL, for $1.5 million. Roy played 26 tests (1462 runs and 24 wickets), 198 one-day internationals (5088 runs and 133 wickets) and 14

with his teammate and fellow Queenslander Matthew Hayden off the Queensland North Stradbroke Island, when their boat sank. Unfazed, they swam from three hours in the sharkinfested waters to a nearby island, to be rescued later.

Perhaps, his inner demons got the better of him to prematurely end his cricketing career, but for the world of cricket his contribution as a game-changer will remain etched in the annals for posterity. On behalf of 1.3 billion Indians, India News Australia, Institute for Australia India Engagement and Australia India Business Council, I express our deepest condolences to his family and friends. It was delight seeing him in action at the Gabba in person. Vale Roy!