CA tributes late cricketer in the first home ODI of the summer

Tributes poured in for late Australian cricketer Andrew Symonds ahead of the first ODI between Australia and Zimbabwe, at the Riverway Stadium, Townville.

Family, friends, players and fans observed a minute of silence for Symonds, who died in May. The all-rounder died in a car crash in May at the age of 46.

Late Andrew Synmonds' family [PC: Twitter]

To pay tribute to their late father, Symonds' children Will and Chloe walked to the ground with Aaron Finch and Marnus Labuschagne as the teams lined up. 

Later during the innings break, the cricketers’ entire family, including two children, wife Laura Vidmar, sister Louise, mother Barbara, best friend Jimmy Maher and pet dogs Buzz and Woody walked out to a guard of honour formed by cricketers from both teams. 

Some of Symonds’ personal items were placed on the ground by his family. This includes his Australian cap, bat, akubra hat and fishing rod. Symonds’ children also served drinks for the Australian team and sat in the dugout during the home team’s fielding innings.

"What he did as a player was remarkable," Finch was quoted. "He was someone who put bums on seats, he was box office with bat and in the field. [It's been] a really sad time obviously for Australian cricket over the last little while. It'll be nice to have some tributes and his family here.”

The Two-time World Cup winner, Symonds, played a key role in Australia’s title victories at the 2003 and 2007 World Cups. He briefly also played T20 leagues like the Indian Premier League and the Big Bash League. 

Symonds was the most expensive player at the 2008 IPL auction. The now-defunct Deccan Chargers signed the player for a whopping $1.35 million.

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