Andrew Symonds, Human Character

I don’t really like Andrew Symonds, or rather, I didn’t: I found him too aggressive, and too willing to unfairly get into another side’s face. (I also don’t like really good lower-order batsmen; they have a tendency to play spoiler, either preventing batting collapses from fully culminating, or putting the screws in already tired bowling attacks.)

But I think I’m changing my mind on this guy.For one thing, I’m always a fan of diversity, and Australia doesn’t have the best record for its cricket team, which is — and, if I’m not mistaken — almost always has been the playground for big, angry, white men. So I give much credit to a cricketer of West Indian origin to find fame in a country that has an ugly history with race relations. 

Now comes his frank admission that he takes to the bottle too much, making him even more of an interesting personality. Cricket always produces the most engaging athletes; the brain-dumb machines of American basketball and football would mostly be ill at ease in the dressing room. So, here we have a very  complex character: separated by his racial origins; a brooding character with clear problems with authority; a style that depends on hyper aggression and blunt force. But all with a sense of humor, too! See:

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