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Andrew Symonds Wiki, Age, Death, Wife, Children, Family, Biography & More

April 8, 20240

 

Andrew Symonds was an Australian cricketer who is known for being involved in many controversies. He died on 14 May 2022 in a car accident in Townsville, Queensland.

Wiki/Biography

Andrew Symonds was born on Monday, 9 June 1975 (age 46 years; at the time of death) in Birmingham, Warwickshire, England. His zodiac sign was Gemini. His hometown was Queensland, Australia. He did his schooling at All Souls St Gabriels School, Australia and All Saints Anglican School, Australia. He attended Ballarat Clarendon College, Australia.

Andrew Symonds as a child

Physical Appearance

Height (approx.): 6′ 1″

Weight (approx.): 80 kg

Hair Colour: Bald

Eye Colour: Grey

Body Measurements (approx.): Chest: 44 inches, Waist: 34 inches, Biceps: 14 inches

Family

Parents & Siblings

Symonds was adopted by his father, Ken, and his mother, Barbara. They adopted him when he was three years old and moved to Australia. The name of his birth parents is not known, but one of them belonged to African-Caribbean background, and the other was of Scandinavian descent. He was adopted at the age of three by Ken and Barbara after which he moved to Australia. He had three siblings, one of his sister’s names is Louise Symonds.

Wife & Children

Symonds got married to Brooke Marshall in 2004, and due to some reasons, they divorced each other in 2005.

Andrew Symonds with his ex-wife

In 2012, he married Laura Symonds and has two children, a son, Billy, and a daughter, Chloe.

Andrew Symonds with his wife

Andrew Symonds with his children

Autograph

Andrew Symonds autograph

Cricket

Symonds made his ODI debut on 10 November 1998 against Pakistan at Gaddafi Stadium. He made his Test debut on 8 March 2004 against Sri Lanka at Galle International Stadium. He made his T20 debut on 17 February 2005 against New Zealand at Eden Park. He was a right-handed batsman and right-arm medium bowler. His jersey number was # 63. In 1994, he held a scholarship for the AIS Australian Cricket Academy. In 1995, he was selected for the England squad for the tour of Pakistan, but he did not go and remained part of the Australia team. He scored more than 5,000 runs and took more than 100 wickets during his tenure in the state team, Queensland. He has played for four countries during his career including Gloucestershire, Kent, Lancashire, and Surrey. Symonds did not gain recognition during the initial phase of his international career, but his performance was applauded when he got a chance to play in the 2003 Cricket World Cup. Reportedly, his performance in the match against Pakistan was considered one of the best knocks in one-day cricket history.

Andrew Symonds during the 2003 Cricket World Cup

In 2008, he became the second most expensive player to be bought for US$1,350,000 by the Deccan Chargers.

Andrew Symonds playing for Deccan Chargers

In 2011, he was bought by Mumbai Indians for US$850,000. In 2012, Symonds retired from all forms of cricket.

Records

  • In August 1995, he hit 16 sixes in a first-class inning and scored a total of 254 runs against Glamorgan at Abergavenny.
  • In the same match, he hit twenty sixes during a first-class match against Glamorgan at Abergavenny.

Controversies

Symonds involved in Monkeygate Scandal

In 2008, Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh was accused of calling Symonds monkey in a Test match in Sydney. Harbhajan denied the claims made by Symonds and was banned for three matches. After some time, the ban was removed. Many Australian cricketers came in favour of Symonds, but the action taken against Harbhajan was not appropriate. In an interview, Symonds accepted that he started drinking because he felt guilty about his teammates being involved in the controversy. In 2009, Symonds was not allowed to play in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup due to his alcohol consumption. The broke the contract with central Cricket Australia, and he never played for Australia again. In 2018, in an interview, Symonds revealed that Harbhajan felt guilty about the monkey gate incident that occurred in 2008 and while apologizing, he cried. After the revelation, Harbhajan tweeted,

WHEN DID THAT HAPPEN ??? BROKE DOWN ???? WHAT FOR ???”

Inaccurate portrayal of Symonds in the ad

In 2020, Symonds was featured in an ad for chiropractor cover by the ahm insurance company. In the ad, the incident in 2008, where Symonds hit a player during a match in Queensland was shown. Many complaints were filed against the ad and claimed that it made fun of assault in the workplace. The ad was later removed.

Awards, Honours, Achievements

  • In 1995, he won the Cricket Writer’s Club Young Cricketer of the Year award in English county Gloucestershire.
  • He became one of only 22 players who scored more than 5000+ runs and took 100+ wickets in ODI cricket.

Death

Symonds died on 14 May 2022 in Townsville, Queensland in a road accident. A couple, Waylon Townson and his girlfriend Babetha Neliman, reached the accident spot and said,

When we got there we could see a car upside down with a man in it. He was partially hanging out of the motor with the country music he was listening to still playing. One of the dog was very sensitive and didn’t want to leave him. It would just growl at you every time we tried to move him or go near him.”

Tributes paid to Symonds

After Symons’s death on 14 May 2022, his fans paid tribute to him by keeping a minute’s silence in a match between Kent and Surrey during the 2022 County Championship. His fans also started a Fishing Rod for Roy campaign because of his interest in fishing. Many cricket fans in Australia also kept the fishing rods and cricket balls outside their houses.

Fans paying tribute to Andrew Symonds

His sister, Louise, wrote a heartbreaking note for her brother and wrote,

Gone far too soon! Rest in peace Andrew. I wish we had one more day, one more phone call. My heart is broken. I will always love you my brother.”

Andrew Symonds’s sister’s note

In an interview, his wife, Laura expressed condolence on her husband’s death and said,

We are still in shock – I’m just thinking of the two kids. He was such a big person, and there is just so much of him in his kids. He was the most laidback person. Nothing stressed him out. He was an extremely chilled operator. So practical. He was never good with his phone, but he always had time for everyone.”

Many Indian cricketers also expressed grief over Symond’s death. In a tweet, Virat Kohli wrote,

Shocking and saddening to hear of Andrew Symonds passing. May his soul RIP and God give strength to his family in this difficult moment.”

In another tweet, Sachin Tendulkar expressed grief and wrote,

Andrew Symond’s demise is shocking news for all of us to absorb. Not only was he a brilliant all-rounder, but also a live-wire on the field. I have fond memories of the time we spent together in Mumbai Indians. May his soul rest in peace, condolences to his family & friends.”

Facts/Trivia

  • Symonds followed a non-vegetarian diet.

    Andrew Symonds’s eating habits

  • His hobbies included travelling and fishing.
  • He was inclined toward sports since childhood. In an interview, he talked about his father and said,

    Dad was cricket mad. He’d throw balls to me five or six days a week, before school, after school. And we’d play all sorts of games inside the house with ping-pong balls and Christmas decorations.”

  • When he was young, he used to travel 270 kilometres twice a week to play junior cricket for the Wanderers club.
  • In 2007, many people at the One Day Series in Vadodara, Nagpur and Mumbai were seen monkey chanting in the stadium. This offended Symonds, and he complained about this. The BCCI denied the incident and said that people were worshipping Lord Hanuman.

    The crowd at a cricket stadium seen monkey chanting

  • In 2008, during the Commonwealth Bank Series, Symonds hit a streaker.

  • In 2008, he went fishing and did not attend the team meeting, because of which, his captain removed him from the squad for the 2008 series against Bangladesh in Darwin. In an interview, the captain talked about this and said,

    The main concern from us is Andrew’s commitment, to playing for this team and, in my opinion and I know the rest of the leadership team’s opinion, you need to be committed 100 per cent.”

  • He liked rugby since childhood. He was a big fan of the team Brisbane Broncos. In 2002, many news channels guessed that Symonds would switch his game from cricket to rugby because he was not able to perform in cricket matches.

    Andrew Symonds playing rugby

  • Many news sources reported that because of his aggressive behaviour, in 2008, he beat his fan in a club who was trying to hug him.
  • In 2009, he was fined for giving a radio interview while being drunk. He made a controversial remark about Brendon McCulluma.
  • In 2011, he appeared in the Bollywood film Patiala House. In the same year, he became part of the Indian reality show Bigg Boss 5. During the show, he faced difficulty in understanding the Hindu language, after which Pooja Misrra, had to return to the show as a translator for him. In an interview, he talked about his participation in the show and said,

    I have been travelling to India for so many years now for cricket. I have so many friends here, so foraying into showbiz here seemed like a natural decision.”

    Andrew Symonds in the show ‘Bigg Boss 5’

  • In 2013, Ricky Ponting, in his autobiography At the Close of Play, said that Symonds was made a villain, but he was a victim of abuse, and Ponting was guilty that he could not take a stand for him.
  • In 2018, in an interview, Yuzvendra Chahal revealed that Symonds’ wife learned to cook butter chicken for him in Australia.

    Andrew Symonds with Yuzvendra Chahal

  • In an interview, Stephen Gray, the writer of Symonds’s autobiography revealed that once, Symonds and two of his friends had to swim for more than three hours because they went deep in water.
  • Symonds’s friendship with Michael Clarke was regarded as the closest friendship in cricket, but their friendship ended for some reason. In an interview, Symonds said that their friendship was ruined because of Michael’s jealousy of Symonds in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He further said,

    Money does funny things. It’s a good thing but it can be a poison and I reckon it may have poisoned our relationship.”

    Andrew Symonds with Michael Clarke

  • He was often known for his stylish hair, but in an interview, he revealed that he donated his dreadlocks to the leukaemia affected children.

    Andrew Symonds with dreadlocks

  • In an interview, he talked about why he was known by the name ‘Roy.’ He said that his coach used to call him by this name because he liked the former Basketball player Leroy Loggins.
  • In an interview, he talked about his love for fishing and said,

    I have had a love for fishing since I can remember. My earliest memories would have been fishing for black bream in the Burdekin River.”

    Andrew Symonds while fishing

  • He is a passionate animal lover and often posts pictures of them on social media.

    Andrew Symonds with his dog

  • He is often spotted enjoying alcoholic beverages on various occasions.

    Andrew Symonds enjoying alcohol