His bad boy image continues to haunt Andrew Symonds and Cricket Australia says the troubled all-rounder will have to prove that he is a reformed man, besides performing well on the field, to harbour hopes of a good future.
His bad boy image continues to haunt Andrew Symonds and Cricket Australia says the troubled all-rounder will have to prove that he is a reformed man, besides performing well on the field, to harbour hopes of a good future.
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Symonds played in Australia's ODI series against Pakistan and was named in the squad for the Twenty20 World Championship next month but CA Chief Executive James Sutherland said the Queenslander will be on the watch due to his past off-field indiscretions.
"His (Symonds') future is in his hands, how he performs on the field and off it - he knows that. So far he has responded very positively to that, and we're buoyed by that," Sutherland said.
"Andrew knows and understands exactly where he is at. I'm really proud of the way we've worked through Andrew's problems with him and his advisers and counsellors. We're hoping he will repay the people who have worked closely with him with his performances this winter and beyond," he added.
Sutherland justified CA giving a long rope to Symonds despite controversies surrounding the all-rounder.
"At the end of the day we have a duty of care to our employees, to help them in times of need. But at the same time we've got a responsibility to the game itself and people will always make judgements about whether we've gone a step too far either way," Sutherland was quoted as saying by The Age.
According to the newspaper, Symonds would be exiled if he was involved in another serious off-field offence. But for the time being, CA is happy with his progress.
"It's great to see he played such a pivotal role in one of the crucial games when the series was on the line (against Pakistan)," Sutherland said, referring to Symonds' innings of 58 in game two in the United Arab Emirates.
"He would the first to admit that he's got more to offer and he's very keen to do that."
There is no guarantee that Symonds will be among the 25 players to be awarded central contracts for next season to be announced in two weeks.
He is also not a certainty for a Test place for the Ashes after Marcus North's commanding entrance to the international arena though he can rely on reputation in limited-overs cricket to get his contract.
The 33-year-old may be saved by a new provision in CA's player contract, to also include specialist limited-overs players, which is being negotiated between the board and players' union.
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