Symonds rises from the ranks
By Alex Brown
February 4, 2004
According to a member of the Australian one-day side - a group renowned for rallying around teammates struggling for form - Andrew Symonds didn't belong at international level. The player kept those thoughts to himself, largely, though he was aware statistics supported his case.
Symonds, after all, had never raised a century, averaged a mere 23.81 and scored just 762 runs from 61 limited-overs matches at the end of last season's one-day finals series. And with the Australians set to depart for the World Cup tournament, sections of the media and fans were sure the Queenslander was a lucky inclusion in Ricky Ponting's squad.
The player in question also held that belief. His name? Andrew Symonds.
Standing at the MCG yesterday, eyes peering towards the scoreboard, Symonds recalled feeling like a "rabbit in the headlights" as he walked to the crease during last year's first final against England. He was nervous, uncertain, troubled.
How times have changed. Now a pivotal member of Australia's batting line-up, Symonds has amassed 995 runs in the 26 one-day internationals since the 2002-03 finals, averaging 47.38 with a top score of 143 not out.
That innings, scored under trying circumstances against Pakistan at the World Cup, signalled Symonds's arrival as a legitimate international force. To the public. To Symonds.
"I went through a period where I didn't know why I was there," Symonds said. "The harder I tried the worse it went.
"I remember coming out here last year and looking at the scoreboard like a rabbit in the headlights. Whereas now, I get out there and I probably won't look at the scoreboard, just get myself going and do my thing. There's a real purpose to what I'm doing. I feel in control more and I enjoy being able to say to my partner, 'Right, this is what we're going to do'."
Ask Symonds why that century transformed his career and prepare for a confused response.
Symonds doesn't know. He remembers the night before the match, when Shane Warne told the side of his positive drugs test. He recalls Australia losing several early wickets against an attack that included Shoaib Akhtar, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. But the innings itself, or its knock-on effect? Nothing.
"It is all a bit of a blur," he said. "I haven't sat down and watched the innings yet. If you look at it, it was a turning point but I don't know why.
"Whether it was you become more competitive in a big, World Cup environment I don't know. I've just got a plan now, and if it doesn't work once or twice, I'm not sort of thinking, 'Where's my next run coming from?'."
Australian coach John Buchanan has noticed several subtle technical changes to Symonds's batting since last year's one-day finals, including a more open stance and a reining-in of cross-bat shots.
More importantly, however, Buchanan believes the all-rounder's surprising World Cup campaign provided him with the inner strength, the self-belief to thrive in the Australian side. Never was that more obvious than last Sunday, when Symonds slammed 73 and combined with Adam Gilchrist for a 99-ball partnership of 122 against India - a match Australia won by five wickets with 108 balls to spare.
During that innings, Symonds sent two massive drives down the ground for six.
"I think [the innings against Pakistan] was just one of those release valves," Buchanan said. "If we look at that particular game, he probably shouldn't have played against Pakistan. Darren Lehmann was suspended for a game and Michael Bevan was injured. [Symonds] probably wouldn't have [made the XI]. But you still have to take the opportunity. I think he's certainly now one of our leaders in the side, not necessarily by the spoken word . . . but by deed."
Given that the Australians recently lost a middle-order batsman with similar leadership traits in the five-day game, Buchanan can envisage a scenario in which Symonds assumes Steve Waugh's position in the Test team.
"There's no reason he can't put his name forward," the coach said. "I think it's certainly been tossed around at the selection panel . . . he obviously has the skills to play both forms of the game."
Similarly, Symonds is supremely confident he would repay the selectors' faith should he earn a Test call-up. Safe to say, that confidence wasn't a noted feature of his demeanour the last time he tested their faith - prior to the World Cup.
"I hope I'm not tagged as a one-day specialist," he said. "I'm confident I'm ready to play Test cricket. And that's not bullshit. I reckon I could walk into a Test match and play good cricket. I'm hopeful."
This story was found at:
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/02/03/1075776062200.html
