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CA lets Symonds off with a warning

— Photo: AFP

Andrew Symonds.

Melbourne: Temperamental all-rounder Andrew Symonds has apologised for letting his team down and has vowed to be a better person after being cleared by the investigating team of Cricket Australia for the bar brawl fiasco in Brisbane on Sunday night.

Symonds had a meeting with CA chief executive James Sutherland and skipper Ricky Ponting last night, after which Sutherland said that he was “totally satisfied” by the Queenslander’s version of events and let him off with a final warning.

“CA is totally satisfied that Andrew did not provoke that incident and when approached by the patron in question handled himself appropriately,” Sutherland was quoted as saying in the Sydney Morning Herald.

“Whilst Andrew agrees that he should have thought twice about actually going to the hotel, his response when subsequently provoked, was restrained and mature,” he added.

Symonds, on his part, has apologised to his team-mates at the Adelaide Oval.

“I maintain that I acted appropriately while at the hotel, but I regret making the decision to visit the hotel as I realise I put myself in a compromising position,” Symonds said in a statement released by CA.

“I have told my team-mates that I am sorry to have put them through this distraction at a time when they are trying to prepare for a Test match so soon after the Brisbane game, particularly those who were also at the hotel and were named in media reports,” he added.

Symonds said he was still going through counselling sessions and promised to come out as a better person.

“I have been and am still going through a counselling process and I give my team-mates, Cricket Australia and Australian cricket fans a commitment that I will continue the counselling work which, as I have already said publicly, is something I want to use to help me understand how and why I behave so I can be a better person,” he said.

“It is something I have enjoyed in the last few months, and it is something with which I am making progress, but it is a work in progress,” he added.

Sutherland had a word with Symonds’ counsellor to find out if the embattled all-rounder was included into the playing XI too quickly and hinted that he was not happy with Symonds visiting the pub.

“Whilst it’s clear that no harm has been done on this occasion, I thought it important to talk to Andrew and take advice from his professional counsellors, to understand why he could be quite open about having a problem with alcohol and then find himself in the spotlight by visiting a pub literally a few days later,” Sutherland said.

Symonds was so disillusioned with his off-field incidents that in desperation to play for Australia, he even offered to accept a massive pay cut of up to $250,000 this year. — PTI

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