‘Money does funny things’: Andrew Symonds on fall out with Michael Clarke

The Australian team in the first decade of this century indeed owned international cricket in its truest sense. They secured prestigious title victories in the 2003 and 2007 ODI World Cup and had an edge on most of the bilateral series as well.

The core players of the team comprised Ricky Ponting, Andrew Symonds, Michael Clarke, Adam Gilchrist and Brett Lee, who dominated world cricket with their performances.

However, the former Aussie star Andrew Symonds revealed his fall-out with Michael Clarke in the latest interaction with Brett Lee.

Symonds reckoned that he used to enjoy batting with Clarke, and they developed a strong bond over due course of time.

“We got closer. When he (Clarke) came into the team, I used to bat a lot with him. So, when he came to the side, I really took care of him. He made a bond,” Symonds told Brett Lee in the Brett Lee podcast, as quoted by Fox Sports.

Symonds had an all-around ability, with an added advantage of being a gun fielder, which fetched him $1.8 million in the inaugural auction of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Hinting at this, the former all-rounder believes Clarke may have become jealous due to his lucrative contract.

“Matthew Hayden said to me — when the IPL started, I got a pretty penny to go and play in the IPL — he identified it as there was a bit of jealousy that potentially came into the relationship (with Clarke) there,” Symonds added.

“Money does funny things. It’s a good thing but it can be a poison and I reckon it may have poisoned our relationship. I’ve got enough respect for him to probably not go into detail about what was said. My friendship with him is no longer and I’m comfortable with that, but I’m not gonna sit here and start slinging mud.” Former Australian all-rounder concluded.

It is evident that the 2015 World Cup-winning captain featured in only a single season of the IPL for Pune Warriors in 2012 and had a disappointing campaign.

Earlier in the Ashes Diary 2015, Clarke opened up on his friendship with Symonds and revealed that the latter turned up too drunk to play an ODI fixture in 2005. On another occasion, the former all-rounder had skipped a team meeting to go fishing when Clarke filled the boots of Ricky Ponting.

“Andrew Symonds went on TV to criticize my leadership. I’m sorry, but he is not a person to judge anyone on leadership. This is a guy who turned up drunk to play for his country. It’s pretty rich for him to be throwing rocks.” Clarke wrote in his 2015 Ashes Diary.