Symonds is not considering retirement

Melbourne:

Not getting picked in the Ashes squad does not mean end of career for Andrew Symonds and the controversial all-rounder is determined to get back to the Test side according to his agent.

Selectors left out Symonds from the Ashes squad yesterday and speculation was rife that the all-rounder would probably hang his bat after the exclusion.

But Symonds' agent Matt Fearon has dismissed speculation that the Queenslander was considering retirement.

"Whether he was selected or not he has given me every indication he is focused on continuing to play cricket for Australia and he was certainly hoping that would be in the Ashes," Fearon said.

"He understood that may not be the case but I think he was pretty practical about that. I know some people have speculated that he may retire based on not being picked in the side but every indication he has given me is that if he was not picked in this Test side, he would focus on being picked in the next one," Fearon was quoted as saying by 'The Age'.

Fearon did say that it was difficult for Symonds to swallow the omission from the important series.

"They selected him in the one-day side to play Pakistan, they selected him for the Twenty20 world cup, I guess he has missed the Ashes squad and that will be extremely disappointing for him," he said.