The tragedy of Roy, the Australian cricket great

When it comes to Symonds, people need to analyse him from two different perspectives: the cricketer and the man. The man and cricketer are not often the same beings. One can be a good cricketer on field but not a great person outside. As a cricketer, Symonds was an all-rounder. In fact, he was one of the best all-rounder of his time. After Michael Bevan’s departure from the squad, the Aussies needed a good middle order batsman who could be relied upon, someone who can score crucial runs in crisis periods of the team. And the person who came to fill that role was Symonds. A powerful physique also made him well suited for bowling part time and he also came up with wickets in vital moments. He became one of those players who would have the privilege of being a regular member of the squad. His first century was against Pakistan in World Cup 2003, in which he scored an impressive 143 unbeaten while their top order was dismissed very quickly. In another game, he remained not out against Sri Lanka in the semi-final, scoring 91 and his innings was very much crucial in the Aussies’ victory over the Lankan lions because the Australians managed only 212 and that was thanks to Symonds’ innings.

This World Cup was ultimately the defining moment of Symonds’ career, where he became Australia’s third leading run-scorer after Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist. Australia eventually went on to lift the World Cup trophy in which even to this day is regarded by many as their best World Cup lift since they won it without the likes of Shane Warne and Darren Lehman. Symonds undoubtedly made a major contribution to that. Roy’s career took a massive downturn after the alleged racist remarks he had suffered.

Andrew Symonds was of African-Caribbean descent but born in England. Initially, he wanted to play for England as it was his birthplace. West Indies was also an option for him. In the end, it was Australia he chose. Symonds’ starting years were rough. He failed to make an impact during his beginning matches and was repeatedly dropped from squad. The question is – would Symonds be treated the same way if he were a white guy? Would he be dropped repeatedly? Even the World Cup where his contribution was massive, Symonds only secured a spot because of being backed up by Ricky Ponting, as claimed by a British former cricketer Adam Hollioake. Even in other countries, it is known by many that players of color have to repeatedly earn their spot in white European teams via their performance and are often the subject of harsh criticisms when they underperform.

The downward spiral in Symonds’ career was visibly clear after the events of the Second test match in ‘2007-08 Border Gavaskar Trophy’ between India and Australia. Complaints were made against Indian off spinner Harbajan Singh for calling Symonds a ‘monkey’. Although Singh denied the charges and many Indians to this day think Singh ‘innocent’, the voice detected by microphone definitely pointed out him saying something similar to that. What also doesn’t help is the fact that previously in 2007 at Nagpur in India, the Indian crowds were alleged to have chanting ‘monkey’ to Symonds when he was batting, thus further pointing the evidence of Singh being guilty. It’s more frustrating when the initial punishment of the three-match ban against Singh was lifted and replaced by a mere 50 % match fee reduction. The then ICC commissioner John Hansen claimed he “could have imposed a more serious penalty if he was made aware by the ICC of the bowler’s previous transgressions”. This admission by Hansen proves that he did in fact believe Singh to be guilty of racism but failed to act accordingly which is indeed upsetting. He also went on to criticise Symonds for confronting Singh after the latter was touching Brett Lee. While this is in fact true, responding that by calling the instigator ‘monkey’ is outright racism and must not be tolerated by any means.

What can come as further shocking is the fact that many of the senior players from both – the Indian and Australian sides wrote to Hansen and the ICC to minimise the charge against Harbajan which included Sachin Tendulkar, Mathew Hayden, Michael Clarke including Symonds among others. Although Symonds was one of the guys, it can well be speculated that he did so out of pressure from the others, seeing no other choice as many of his teammates were requesting for an appeal in favor of Singh. Not long after, Symonds turned to alcohol and resorted to committing ‘unsportsmanlike’ activities off the field. His performance on field degraded and he was again dropped from the squad for this and his off field conducts. Needless to say he was never the same Roy and eventually announced retirement from international cricket. Captain Ricky Ponting expressed how he became disillusioned by the Australian team for not backing up Symonds and how the victim became the villain in the eyes of many. After his death, many believed the lack of support from his teammates drove Symonds to become an alcoholic and gradually ruin his career.

Mental traumas can be long lasting. Racism is one of those issues which lead to traumas and paranoias. Overcoming them can be difficult. There is no such thing worse than hating yourself, hating your own skin colour and appearance because others say and feel that way. Before learning to accept others in life, one should learn to accept himself first. And instead of laughing at these problems, we should counsel these people who really are suffering from insecurities and help them to overcome their mental obstacles. Many of the suicides that we see among teenagers and young adults from our country have been known to be the victims of their own insecurities.

In Bangladesh and overall South Asian region, we also have a strong habit of judging others by their colour and appearance, especially when it comes to women. A father having a dark skinned daughter often gets in the difficulty in arranging her marriage and we see this a lot in the rural areas. Literature great Rabindranath Tagore in his memoirs mentioned about his own struggles in finding suitable husbands for his daughters because of the unwillingness of many to marry them due to the color of their skin. Society should address these problems openly and help people to overcome them before things go too far.

* Chowdhury Taoheed Al-Rabbi: Student of Bangladesh University of Professionals.