The Hindu : Sport : Symonds’s plea to Australian public

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Monday, Oct 22, 2007
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Symonds’s plea to Australian public

Melbourne: The relentless heckling from Indian fans has disappointed Andrew Symonds but the Australian all-rounder has pleaded with the public here not to seek revenge by directing any “ugly chanting” at the Indian players during their tour down under later this year.

“Am I against crowd participation? Definitely not, but there is a message I would like to give the Australian public and supporters of our team.”

“I don’t want to see ugly chanting at the Indian players when they come to Australia later in the year,” Symonds wrote in a column for the Daily Telegraph on Sunday.

India will play four Tests and a triangular ODI series — also involving Sri Lanka — in an over-two-month tour of Australia starting December.

Symonds, who was reportedly subjected to another round of abuse during his side’s seven-wicket loss to India in Saturday night’s Twenty20 match in Mumbai, said he was hoping that the focus would remain firmly on cricket when India arrives here.

Focus on cricket

“I’m looking forward to the summer in Australia, with both Sri Lanka and India coming. I just hope the focus can be on the cricket,” he said.

Reflecting on the just-concluded ODI series in India, Symonds said though abusive chants from spectators “frustrated and disappointed” him, he was touched by several others, who called him to express regret over the incidents.

“Given the incessant calls to my hotel room, it’s clear that a large contingent of Indian cricket fans have been affected by the recent furore surrounding myself and the crowds in India,” Symonds revealed.

“For the last three days, the phone in my hotel room hasn’t stopped ringing. I’ve had doctors, bankers and local businessmen all on the other end of the line desperate to apologise for what has transpired over the past week,” the big-hitting right-hander said.

Symonds said Indian cricketers were friendly to him, which helped him cope with the furore, which started during the fifth one-dayer in Vadodara.

“I’ve also spoken to a few of the players from the Indian cricket team, who have been great in offering me a friendly word. Personally, I’m doing fine,” he assured.

Criticises Indian media

The all-rounder hit out at the media in India for misrepresenting his comments but asserted that the negative press did not affect him much.

“I am disappointed in the way I’ve been portrayed in some sections of the media and I’m probably lucky that I’m not an avid newspaper reader — and I’m lucky I have the support of my teammates. There have been times where I have been portrayed as something I’m not,” he said.

Symonds thanked his teammates — especially skipper Ricky Ponting — for helping him handle the tense situation.

“It’s very Australian that the boys rally in these times. And it’s genuine. When someone is under the pump or facing an issue in this team, like I have this week, we stay tight. “We pride ourselves on staying together when things get difficult. We’re lucky that we have Ricky as captain,” he said. He was, however, all for on-field sledging and felt the game does “needs its characters.” — PTI

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