Symonds ‘heartbroken’ he dragged teammates into ‘Monkeygate’ scandal
Andrew Symonds has revealed his life started to spiral out of control after the infamous Monkeygate affair on India's 2007/2008 tour of Australia, because of his guilt that teammates had been "dragged in" to back up his account of being racially abused.
Key points
- An alleged racist sledge from Harbhajan Singh to Andrew Symonds caused a furore on India's 2007/2008 Australian tour
- Singh was banned for three Tests, but it was downgraded to a fine on appeal
- Symonds' subsequent alcohol problems led to the end of his international career for Australia
Speaking to Mark Howard, Symonds went into detail about the controversy that threatened at one point to end India's tour.
On day three of the second Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), India's Harbhajan Singh was batting with Sachin Tendulkar when Harbhajan and Symonds had a verbal altercation, where the Australian alleged his opponent called him a monkey.
"I said, 'Listen here d***head, we're not out here to make friends, you're about to get hurt here'," Symonds told Howard in is podcast The Howie Games.
"And he [Harbhajan] started going: 'You're nothing but a monkey.' He said it probably two or three times. From that moment on that was my downhill slide."
Several teammates heard Singh call Symonds a monkey, which prompted captain Ricky Ponting to make an official complaint.
Four members of the team — Ponting, Symonds, Matthew Hayden and Michael Clarke — were called before the International Cricket Council (ICC) to give evidence over what had happened.
The Indian off-spinner was initially charged with racial abuse and given a three-match ban by the ICC.
However the Indian team protested and appealed the decision.
The appeal was heard by New Zealand High Court judge John Hansen, who found the racism charge was "not proven". The ban was lifted.
Harbhajan was found guilty of a lesser charge of using abusive language. He was fined 50 per cent of his match fee.
The case brought immense media scrutiny for everyone involved and Symonds said his guilt over the way the process played out had hung over him.
"I started to drink heavily as a result of it and my life was starting to dissolve around me," Symonds said.
"I felt the pressure and the weight of dragging those mates of mine into the cauldron of this cesspit that should never have got to this sort of point where we felt guilty.
"Me and Punter [Ponting] were up one night before the Adelaide Test until one in the morning talking to our solicitor, so it was tricky times.
"I was dealing with it the wrong way. I felt guilty that I'd dragged my mates into something I didn't think they deserved to be involved in."
Alcohol issues ended Symonds' international career
Symonds said the way in which Harbhajan was punished was "nearly irrelevant to me", but instead he as focused on his teammates.
"I was thinking about what I was going through and what I'd put the other boys through," he said.
"That [the punishment] was neither here nor there with me, it was the weight and responsibility of what we'd all been dragged into."
Symonds was put on notice by Cricket Australia for his alcohol consumption the following year, as he spent time out of the team for various disciplinary reasons.
He was banned from drinking ahead of the World T20 in 2009 in England, but a few drinks while out watching a State of Origin match on TV led to him being sent home from the tournament.
His central Cricket Australia contract was subsequently torn up and he never played for Australia again.
Symonds describes tense history with Harbhajan
Symonds said the SCG incident was not the first altercation he had had with Harbhajan, and that he had tried to rule a line under the aggravating behaviour before India's return tour of Australia.
"I'd spoken to Harbhajan the series before in India, he'd called me a monkey before in India," Symonds told Howard.
"I went into their dressing room and said, 'Can I speak to Harbhajan for a minute outside please?' So he came outside and I said, 'Look, the name-calling's got to stop or else it's going to get out of hand.'
"[I said] 'We've got a few names for you blokes and you've obviously got a few names for us and that's all good but it's going to end in tears so let's knock it on the head.'
"So we shook hands and he said, 'No problem boss, all good.'"
The incident in Sydney proved the breaking point, but the pair did eventually play together in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the Mumbai Indians.
"When I got to Mumbai it was icy, when I walked in there the first time," Symonds said.
"We'd had a few drinks and Harbhajan came over to me. He said, 'Boss can I talk to you for a minute?'
"He said, 'I really want to apologise for what I did and what I said, I hope it hasn't harmed you or your family too badly,' and he broke down.
"I could just see the weight lift off his shoulders when he got that off his chest."
[contf]
[contfnew]
ABC .net
[contfnewc]
[contfnewc]
