Andrew Symonds planned to join Shane Warne as a coach at the London Spirit in the Hundred
Andrew Symonds and Shane Warne were two of the sharpest minds in world cricket. And in a sad twist, they’d agreed to become coaching partners this season.
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The passing of Andrew Symonds has taken on an eerie twist with the revelation that he and the late Shane Warne had agreed to become coaching partners.
Symonds had told friends how much he was looking forward to heading to England later this winter to be a part of Warne’s coaching staff at the London Spirit in the new Hundred competition.
It will be a hollow feeling at the London franchise now being headed up by fellow Australian Trevor Bayliss, with Symonds and Warne now both tragically gone in the space of two months.
The day after Warne’s death, Symonds opened up on Fox Cricket’s tribute special to pay tribute to a close friend he revealed had helped him through some of the darkest moments of his life.
That relationship was set to blossom into a coaching union Warne hoped would kick-start a new career for Symonds.
“My friendship with Shane just grew and grew over the years and he was so generous to me. I’ve been through some difficult periods and I’d ring him and if he didn’t take the call he’d ring me straight back,” Symonds told Fox.
“I’ve done quite a bit of (commentary) work with him over the last three years and just recently he rang me – probably 10 days (before Warne’s death) and I was at home and I was getting ready to go fishing actually. And he said, ‘I’ve got some good news for you, Roy.
“’Remember how we talked about this coaching thing for the London Spirit?’ He said, ‘I’ve got you the job.
“’And I was really looking forward to going to coach with Shane Warne. No. 1 to see how he went about it and then obviously to learn.
“He said, ‘do you want to dip your toe into the water with coaching? You seem to really know the game quite well and you describe things to me quite well so would you like to give it a go?’
“So off the back of that that, that opportunity arose and unfortunately I won’t get to live that with him.”
Warne’s former Victorian teammate Darren Berry was to be the other assistant coach at London and was left devastated that his would-be colleagues – not to mention closest of mates in Warne – were no longer around.
“Too much just far too much to bare,” Berry wrote on Twitter.
“Seriously WTF we had some fierce battles on the field but enormous respect of (sic) it.
Numbness descends as SKW had arranged both Roy & I to be his trusted assistants at the London Spirit. Unique man with a kind heart taken far too soon – RIP Roy.”
Fox Sports broadcast staff are in mourning at the shock and tragic death of Symonds particularly when they’re still dealing with the loss of Warne.
Warne would affectionately refer to Symonds as “Drew” and would have him stay at his house in Melbourne.
Just hours after the news of Symonds’ tragic death in a car accident broke, Warne’s daughter, Brooke posted on social media about her heartbreak.
Symonds spoke about how during his early days playing for Australia it was Warne who made him believe he could survive at Test level.
And post their playing days, it was Warne he would turn to during difficult periods in his occasionally tumultuous life.
“He was more the calming influence. If I was in Melbourne working I’d go around and stay with him. And we’d just order some food and we’d sit there and talk,” Symonds said.
“I remember ordering Christmas gifts with him last year. He said, ‘mate, what am I going to get (son) Jackson?’
“I said, ‘mate, there’s some good stuff out at the moment. The Yeti water bottles – unreal. Get him one of them. He can take it to the gym, he can take it down to the beach they keep everything cold, cold.’
“I think we ordered some donuts to pull behind the Jet Ski. Some towels. We had a good afternoon.
“He was good at taking your mind off things.
“He was always there for me and very generous with his time and his thoughts, and little things (he’d say, like) there’s always someone doing it tougher than you are mate, so don’t be down on yourself.”
Unfortunately plenty in Australian cricket are down at the moment, as they try and comprehend a legend and a friend gone too soon.
STARS UNITE TO FAREWELL ‘FEARLESS’ SYMONDS
Andrew Symonds’ popularity has been illustrated within a day of his death with a large group of teammates uniting for an impromptu celebration of his life.
Shattered Queensland and Australian teammates went to Brisbane’s Story Bridge Hotel to share Simmo stories and remember a life like no other after he was killed in a car crash outside Townsville on Saturday night.
Among those present were Chris Simpson, Jimmy Maher, Scott Prestwidge, Geoff Foley, Michael Kasprowicz, Joe Dawes, Ryan Broad, Steve Farrell, Matt Mott, Ian and Ken Healy, Brendan Nash, Greg Rowell and Chris Swann.
Coach John Buchanan and renowned poet Rupert McCall also attended.
“Some great stories and memories were renewed,’’ said former fast bowler Rowell, now a Cricket Australia board member.
“He was such a vibrant courageous influence. I played in his first game in Sydney against NSW and you remember those early days.
“He was an outrageously good hitter of the ball but more than anything we remember how he grew into the teammate that he was. What a great friend he was.
“He was fearless. He would call things how he saw them. The fact that he was such a great fieldsman said a lot about him because fielding is about commitment to others.’’
‘SHARNS, I’M IN YOUR CORNER’: NORDER BOND WITH ROY
Emma Greenwood
Former Diamonds captain Sharni Norder has opened up about her devastation at the death of cricket star Andrew Symonds, revealing his touching support after she revealed her mental health battles.
The pair met earlier this year filming the Maximus Decathlon, a television series involving retired sports stars including Norder, Symonds, Olympic swimmer Leisel Jones and former world surfing champion surfer Joel Parkinson, and became firm friends.
Norder – famous as much for her booming voice as her netball exploits – said Symonds threw “shade” at her on day one and they became firm friends when she served it right back.
Speaking on Fox Netball’s Pivot program, Norder said she and Symonds shared some of their personal experiences over the week and said the 46-year-old was a “beautiful” person.
“He knew about my mental health struggles and he put his arm around me and said: ‘Sharns, I’m in your corner and if you ever need anything, I’m only ever a phone call away’.
“I really just wanted to share that because he was obviously really beautiful.
“I know that there are a lot of people struggling out there and I just wanted to share my thoughts and condolences with his family, friends and to every life that he touched.
“I think it didn’t matter if you knew him for an hour, for a week or for years, it’s a real loss to not only the cricketing, sporting (and) Fox Sports family but to the world in general, and it’s going to be a sad place without him.”
Symonds alluded to his own battled with mental health following the recent death of Shane Warne, saying the star spinner helped him through some difficult periods.
“My friendship with Shane just grew and grew over the years and he was so generous to me,” Symonds said on Fox Sports following the superstar’s death from a heart attack earlier this year.
“I’ve been through some difficult periods and I’d ring him in if he didn’t take the call, he’d ring me straight back.
“He was … a calming influence.
“He was good at taking your mind off things that he’s fascinating be around, he’s a fascinating person.
“He was always there for me and very generous with his time and his thoughts. (He’s say) little things (like), there’s always someone doing a tougher than you mate, so don’t be so down on yourself.”
Warne’s three children took to social media on Sunday to post heartfelt messages about Symonds.
Warne’s daughter Summer posted a photo of her late father with Symonds and her brother Jackson, with a broken heart emoji.
Her sister Brooke wrote on Instagram that Symonds was “the best date I ever had” under an image of her dad’s Test teammate in a suit with her as a young girl, adding: “Rest In Peace Roy. Heaven has gained another Angel.”
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