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Throwing out a line up north must be very tempting for discarded Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds right now. Certainly cricket isn’t doing it for him at the moment.
Symonds may have returned to the cricket fold after being dumped from the national squad over the “gone fishing” controversy in Darwin – but the big hitting match-winner of old is still missing.
Symonds looked hopelessly out of touch when he failed again with the bat for the Queensland Bulls in their day-night clash with Tasmania at the Gabba today.
He was out for a six-ball duck after tamely lobbing spinner Xavier Doherty to Dane Anderson at mid-on.
It was typical of a disappointing Bulls batting effort today, Queensland bowled out for 205 in the 48th over.
Symonds appears to have hit rock bottom since returning from the Top End.
He has amassed just 27 runs from eight innings – an average of 3.4 – for Queensland after the Darwin debacle.
Signs were ominous from the outset for Symonds when his leading edge from the first ball he faced bounced just short of a Tigers fielder.
Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland made it clear Symonds could force his way into Australia’s opening Test of the summer against New Zealand in Brisbane – if he let his bat do the talking.
But Symonds would be flat out justifying his place in the Queensland team on current form.
Symonds made all the right noises at a press conference upon his return to Queensland, stressing how he wanted to become a better person.
But he still appears to be shrugging off the effects of a turbulent period which also featured the traumatic Harbhajan Singh racial row.
He has two Shield games before Australia’s first Test against New Zealand starts at the Gabba on November 20.
His next assignment is Queensland’s one-day clash with NSW at Cairns on Saturday.
Symonds will be keen to stress he won’t be heading north for a vacation.
But a change might be as good as a holiday anyway.
A relaxed, different environment might just be the catalyst for Symonds to return to his form of old.
It certainly sounds like it might do the trick judging by Symonds’ column in The Cairns Post newspaper today.
“As far as I am concerned, one of the simple pleasures in life is packing your port and telling people ‘I’m heading up north for a bit’,” wrote the Charters Towers-bred Symonds.
“It’s no secret that I love life in the north of our great state and have spent many happy moments in and around Townsville, Ingham, Cairns, the Gulf and the Cape.
“So coming back to Cairns to play cricket is a rare treat, indeed.
“As well as loving the lifestyle, my memories of cricket in the north are just as fond.”
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