MAY 15, 2022
Andrew Symonds’s wife said that in real life, the former Australian all-rounder was a ‘big’ person and that he had time for everyone, even if he was a laidback person in day-to-day life.
The cricketing world suffered a shock on the morning of May 15 when the news of sudden death of former Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds was received. The World Cup winner died in a car crash at the age of 46.
Police confirmed that the accident occurred in Hervey Range, 50 km from Townsville on Saturday night. The car Symonds was driving left the road and rolled, according to a police statement, which described it as a single-vehicle incident.
Symonds has left behind two kids and a wife. His wife Laura is still taking her time to deal with the news and fears about the future without her husband.
In an interview to Cricket Times, she said that Symonds was a big person and that he had time for everyone, even if he was a laidback person in day-to-day life.
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. An extraordinary player and even better human being. Can’t believe he’s gone. Thoughts are with his family at this time. pic.twitter.com/7r7FiK1CzK
— Ricky Ponting AO (@RickyPonting) May 15, 2022
“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”, said Laura.
Lauran further said that Symonds always regretted not going to University to study and not educating himself enough. She added that despite not getting degrees that he always wanted, he was still a very intelligent man.
“He always felt extremely self-conscious about his intellect and would say ‘I didn’t go to Uni and don’t have degrees’, but he was so practical and really intelligent in his own way. He was a great commentator. He didn’t show it on the screen, but he was really nervous sometimes. He could read plays and read players and articulate it in layman’s terms. I am not a cricket nuffy, but I could understand the game when he explained it to me. He brought humor to it, and it was not serious,” she said.
Shocking and saddening to hear of Andrew Symonds passing. May his soul RIP and God give strength to his family in this difficult moment. __
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) May 15, 2022
His Australian teammates paid tributes to the passing soul. Ricky Ponting, under whom Symonds, played most of his international cricket had high praise for all-rounder.
He wrote on his Twitter: “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. An extraordinary player and even better human being. Can’t believe he’s gone. Thoughts are with his family at this time.”
Today I have lost my closest man.
You were just not a colleague
My family, my man
My symonds uncle __ I will miss you terribly
RIP ___ pic.twitter.com/5BvliutC8f— Yuzvendra Chahal (@yuzi_chahal) May 15, 2022
Tributes also poured in from the likes of Virat Kohli, Harbhajan Singh and Yuzvendra Chahal among other cricketers. Symonds is the second member of that invincible Australian men’s cricket team that was hard to beat in noughties. Spin bowling great Shane Warne had passed away in early March this year.
