Cricket Australia’s expected decision to cut loose Andrew Symonds has resulted in a contract lifeline to fellow controversial star Shaun Tait.
The injury-plagued Tait on Friday replaced Symonds on CA’s 25-man contract list after the allrounder’s 2009-10 offer had been officially revoked following his latest alcohol-related indiscretion in England last week.
Symonds, set to become a travelling Twenty20 specialist, is now left without a contract for the next Australian summer with Queensland Cricket acting on his advice not to offer him a new deal.
But there is an expectation the 34-year-old will still turn out for the Bulls who are especially keen for him to play limited-overs matches in between his Indian Premier League commitments.
While CA general manager of cricket Michael Brown advised Symonds the board had withdrawn his contract offer, he hoped the swashbuckling batsman would continue to play interstate cricket.
“We’ve given him our full support if he so choose to play state cricket and hopefully he’s not lost to the Australian game,” he said.
“He’s a world class player and if Andrew would like to play, Australian cricket would like to see him back playing for Queensland.”
Symonds, currently deciding upon his future plans after also fielding interest from England and South Africa, advised Queensland Cricket chief executive Graham Dixon on Thursday not to include him on their contract list.
“Andrew has been up front with us and made a very selfless gesture by advising us not to contract him,” Dixon said.
“He knows the door is open here and we look forward to catching up with him when he’s ready to have chat about what his plans might be.”
Tait’s new contract comes after he was controversially omitted from the 25-man list last month.
It sparked an angry response from the 26-year-old slinger who was also upset CA barred him from turning out in the IPL due to injury concerns.
“Shaun was disappointed (at the time),” Brown said. “He wants to play for Australia. He’s a had a horrific run of injuries in recent times.
Tait is currently playing in England and will link with the Australian Ashes squad when it moves from Leicester to London next week to help out in the nets.
He will then return home to be a part of Australia A’s squad to play Pakistan in Queensland.
Capable of reaching speeds into the mid-150s km/h, Tait has largely become a white-ball specialist due to lingering elbow and hamstring injuries.
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