Australia's former star all-rounder Andrew Symonds tragically died in a car accident earlier this month. The twin-World Cup winner with the side, Symonds was 46 at the age of his death, and his tragic passing sent shock waves across the cricket fraternity. Symonds was the third leading Aussie cricketer to have died within the past three months, with former wicketkeeper-batter Rod Marsh and bowling great Shane Warne passing away within 24 hours of each other in March.
On Thursday, a public service memorial was held in Townsville to bid farewell to one of Australia's legendary cricketers, and many of Symonds' Australia teammates including former captain Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist, and Darren Lehmann among others shared their memories with the former all-rounder.
Ponting, who led Symonds for a major part of the latter's international career, recalled an incident from 2007 when Australia were preparing for the World Cup. The former captain revealed how Symonds had torn his ‘bicep’ while batting during a game, and continued to bat with one arm before Ponting called him back.
"In a one-day series in Australia before we left for the 2007 World Cup, he tore his bicep while he was batting. We had the World Cup a couple of weeks later. He was trying to bat with one arm. He called the physio up, pulled his shirt (sleeves) and his whole bicep had basically dropped to the elbow joint. He told the physio, “Just push my bicep up a bit, put a tape around it and I'll be fine!” Ponting recalled, drawing laughter from the people present in the memorial.
{{/usCountry}}"In a one-day series in Australia before we left for the 2007 World Cup, he tore his bicep while he was batting. We had the World Cup a couple of weeks later. He was trying to bat with one arm. He called the physio up, pulled his shirt (sleeves) and his whole bicep had basically dropped to the elbow joint. He told the physio, “Just push my bicep up a bit, put a tape around it and I'll be fine!” Ponting recalled, drawing laughter from the people present in the memorial.
{{/usCountry}}“I knew how important he was going to be for the World Cup, so I was like, 'get him off the bloody ground!'. It was another big decision we had to make there because it (the injury) was like touch and go. History said that he was the player we knew could win us the World Cup with his own bat. His work ethic was always there. He had his ups and downs with his fitness, but some of the work he did to be a part of the World Cup was incredible,” said the former Australia skipper.