"Viv Richards Reincarnated": Shane Watson's Glowing Tribute To Former Australia All-Rounder Andrew Symonds

The cricket fraternity was left in shock when former Australia all-rounder Andrew Symonds was killed in a car crash in May this year. A public memorial service was held at a stadium in the coastal city of Townsville last month with former Australian cricketers paying tribute to the former all-rounder. Now, Shane Watson has also hailed the impact Symonds had while playing the game and went on to call him "Viv Richards reincarnated".

Symonds was a key part of the teams that won the 2003 and 2007 ICC World Cup. He was an integral member of the Australian team across all three formats during his career.

"You felt bulletproof when you played in the same team as Andrew Symonds. Having him at point and just knowing he always had your back no matter what. And to bat with him was something very special. It is shattering to think he is not with us anymore. I look back at old footage I have seen over the last couple of weeks and (shaking head) he was so good, just so incredibly good. And to go with it one of the best teammates you could ever have," Watson said on the ICC Review.

"His poor two kids, such beautiful kids and they adored their dad as well. We need to make sure we rally around his family as much as we can, as I know he would do that for us. He was very much Viv Richards reincarnated in the way he played. Even before I played against him you always heard about this big, powerful, six-hitting batter who could do everything and who was an amazing athlete," he added.

Further talking about Symonds, Watson said: "His ability to bowl spin and medium pace, he was one of the best fielders to ever play. His all-round ability was something we haven't seen much of and won't see much of again."

For Australia, Symonds played 26 Tests, 198 ODIs and 14 T20Is.

Symonds was a gun fielder and batters were always cautious while going for a quick run whenever he was around. The right-handed batter represented Queensland for 17 seasons in domestic cricket and talking about County, he represented Gloucestershire, Kent, Lancashire and Surrey.

Topics mentioned in this article

Australia Cricket Team Shane Watson Andrew Symonds Cricket