Related Links : Andrew Symonds | ICC World Twenty20 2009
Cricket Australia chief James Sutherland has indicated that Andrew Symonds may have played his last game for Australia, after being sent home ahead of the World Twenty20 tournament.
The all-rounder has flown back Down Under and will play no part in the upcoming event due to disciplinary reasons, with Australia given the go-ahead by the ICC to call up a replacement.
Officials refused to specifically state what Symonds had done wrong, but they did say the 33-year-old had ‘broke team rules relating to alcohol and other issues’.
Sutherland confirmed the player’s departure from the squad and gave a strong hint that Symonds, who has had previous disciplinary problems, may not play for his country again.
The CA chief said: “In the last 24-48 hours he has broken a number of team rules. In isolation the breaches are not serious, but in the scheme of history, they are enough to be the final straw.”
“We will take the offer of a Cricket Australia contract we made to him off the table and reconsider our decision over the coming days.”
Skipper Ricky Ponting admitted that Australia were losing “one of the best Twenty20 players in the world”, but that Symonds had “let himself and the team down” following this latest misdemeanour.
Whatever the reason for his axing from the squad, Australia’s chances of winning the event will have been hit hard with the absence of Symonds – who was left out of the squad for this summer’s Ashes.
Ponting conceded that he and the selectors would have to “re-jig” the plans ahead of their opening game against West Indies and that the Queenslander’s exit would “throw the balance of the side.”
Cameron White looks the likely replacement for Symonds, who now faces an anxious wait regarding his future. The Birmingham-born star has played 26 Tests, 198 one-day internationals and 14 Twenty20 matches and looks like he won’t now add to that tally.