Timeline: Symonds' trysts with controversies

Melbourne:

Controversy stalked Andrew Symonds throughout his career and it was hardly a surprise that the temperamental all-rounder was sent back home from Australia's ICC World Twenty20 squad in England due to his alcohol-related problems.

Symonds' trouble with the bottle surfaced in June 2005 when he turned up drunk for an ODI against Bangladesh in Cardiff.

Cricket Australia subsequently slapped a two-match ban on the all-rounder.

Next year in March, Symonds was involved in a nightclub brawl with a rugby player during Australia's tour of South Africa. Fortunately, Michael Clarke intervened and steered him away to avoid further embarrassment.

Symonds was at the eye of the storm of the 2008 'monkeygate' episode, along with volatile Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh.

Symonds accused Harbhajan of calling him a "monkey" and the episode threatened to polarise cricket world with India threatening to pull out of the tour.

Harbhajan was absolved of the charge but Symonds was a bitter man, sulking that he didn't get enough support from his own board

In August 2008, Symonds was in the headlines for wrong reasons again for the well-documented "gone-fishing" episode.

The bitterness of the "monkeygate" episode fresh in his mind, Symonds skipped a compulsory team meeting and instead, went fishing in Darwin before the ODI against Bangladesh.

Cricket Australia (CA) put him under rehabilitation, questioning his integrity and Symonds admitted he had been on a drinking binge prior to the incident.

In November, Symonds got involved in a brawl at a Brisbane hotel even though he insisted he was provoked.

In January 2009, Symonds landed in fresh controversy when he called Brendon McCullum a "lump of s**t" during a radio interview.

Symonds subsequently had to apologise and CA fined him 4000 Australian dollar.

Even though CA did everything to help in his rehab, Symonds' temperament and alcohol-related problem once again got the better of him forcing CA chief executive James Sutherland to describe it today as "the final straw".