Andrew Symonds, 46, killed in a car accident, another devastating blow to Australian cricket.
According to senior cricket journalist Robert Craddock, the former all-rounder was slain on Saturday night approximately 50 kilometres from Townsville.
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According to a Queensland police statement, Symonds was involved in a single-car crash around 10.30 p.m.
According to authorities, Symonds was travelling on Hervey Range Road near the Alice River Bridge when his car left the road and rolled.
When paramedics got on the scene, they were unable to recover the former Australian fan favourite, who was the only person in the automobile.
Adam Gilchrist, a former teammate and Fox Cricket colleague, led the tributes to the guy known lovingly as Roy.
“This really hurts,” Gilchrist tweeted, as Michael Vaughan said, “Simmo .. This doesn’t feel real.”
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Meanwhile, after the news came, Australia’s Mark Taylor paid tribute to Symonds on Channel 9.
“I can’t quite believe it. Another tragic day for cricket. Bad things do happen in threes,” he said.
“He was just an entertainer. In an era where professionalism really is a throw away word that we use probably too often. Symo was the older sort of guy. He wanted to go out there and have fun and play the game he remembered to play it as a kid,” Taylor added.
“At times he got in trouble for not going to training or maybe having a few too many beers at life but that is the way he lived his life and the way he wanted to play his cricket also.”
Following the terrible deaths of Shane Warne and Rod Marsh in March, Symonds is the third Australian cricket icon to die unexpectedly this year.
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Symonds appeared in 26 Tests for Australia and was a key member of the white ball squads that ruled the world between 1999 and 2007.
He won the ODI World Cup in 2003 and 2007, the latter of which included a spectacular 143 not out against Pakistan that set the tone for the rest of his career.
Symonds was a “generational talent” and a “instrumental” component of Australia’s World Cup win, according to Cricket Australia chair Lachlan Henderson.
“He was a cult figure to many who was treasured by his fans and friends,” he said.
“On behalf of Australian cricket our deepest sympathies are with Andrew’s family, team-mates, and friends.”
“He was a prodigious talent from an early age in Queensland with his clean ball-striking ability, shrewd spin bowling and brilliant fielding,” CA chief Nick Hockley added.
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“He will be sadly missed by the Australian cricket community and particularly his very close friends at the Queensland Bulls where he was a popular and much-admired team-mate and friend,” Hockley said. “Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this devastatingly sad time.”
Symonds was a limited-overs force, hitting 5,088 runs at 39.75 and capturing 133 wickets at 37.25 while also being a superb fielder.
He was initially labelled as only a white ball player, but he eventually got into Australia’s Test team in 2004, averaging 40.61 with the bat and scoring two centuries.
Symonds’ last post on Instagram came after the death of Warne, when he wrote: “Devastated, I’m hoping this is all a bad dream. I just can’t get my head around never seeing you again.”
He was a well-known fisherman who could frequently be found on a boat. Symonds is survived by his wife Laura, as well as his two small children, Chloe and Billy.
