Symonds erred because no one punished him

Andrew Symonds was a player never humble enough to learn from his mistakes and was allowed by weak officials to get away with far too much for far too long.

Symonds erred because no one punished him

Andrew Symonds was a player never humble enough to learn from his mistakes and was allowed by weak officials to get away with far too much for far too long.

In short, that is why his cricket career is in ruins. They are weak as water. It really is that simple.

Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland told Symonds four years ago in England that his contract would be torn up if he ever misbehaved again. Yet he did at least four times and until now his contract remained intact. Last night I spoke to Sutherland and asked him whether he thought he had been too weak. He challenged this view, claiming the issue was more complex than I appreciated.

The national selectors and the psychologists who have been pedalling lines about his alleged recovery so ridiculous they would be laughable if they weren't so sad.

Ricky Ponting should also be embarrassed by how weak he has been. Disciplining players is not his strong point.

I live in Queensland and all summer Bulls (Queensland) players have told me that Symonds' head was nowhere near right for a recall to international cricket. That he is not the player he was. That he was distressed at losing millions of dollars in the collapse of the Storm Financial Group and, even more painfully, that his family had lost money as well. And that he had fallen out of love with the game.
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It showed in almost every innings he played in a season when he averaged 15 for Queensland. The worst thing that happened to Symonds was that Cricket Australia kept forgiving him for his sins. He never changed because he never had to and now it is too late.

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