Symonds told he has to tour Pakistan
A CA spokesman made it clear yesterday that if the tour proceeds and Symonds opts out, he would be in breach of his contract and would not be allowed to play in the Indian Premier League, a view shared by Australian skipper Ricky Ponting.
Symonds, who on Wednesday indicated that he could pull out of the tour over safety concerns, said he believed that players were invited on tours rather than co-opted, and could refuse at their own discretion.Thats the way I have understood it always, (that) when you go on a tour, its an invitational basis and you do get to choose whether you want to go, he said.And if you have got a good enough reason, to me, then you shouldnt have to go. His Queensland and Australian teammate Matthew Hayden agreed.Yesterday, Symonds softened his position only slightly, saying: Well, the doors ajar. You know where I stand on it.The CA spokesman said the decision on Pakistan would be made for all by the board, after consulting with its Pakistani counterpart, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, its own security experts and the Australian Cricketers Association.CA has excused player engagements in the past: captain Ricky Ponting on compassionate grounds two years ago, leg-spinner Stuart MacGill because of his conscientious objection to visiting Zimbabwe in 2004. But the spokesman said the decision on Pakistan was operational rather than philosophical, would be made on the most sophisticated available advice and would be binding on all players.Ponting said he understood it that way, obviating the possibility of a conscience vote. Its a difficult question. I think it would actually be a breach of your CA contract, I would imagine, he said. I think thats how it is set out at the moment: you are to make yourself available for any international games that are scheduled to be played at that part of the year whenever it is. I think thats how the Cricket Australia contract reads now.Whether its unfair or not, weve all signed off on it.Even if the tour proceeds, Symonds still has a chance of linking up with Hyderabad, who on Wednesday bid $1.47 million to claim him for the first IPL competition, which launches on April 18.Symonds, and the other Australian players, could play up to six IPL games during the small window before they travel to the West Indies in May. CA has indicated that it would not object as long as coach Tim Nielsen did not need the squad for preparatory training.
The doubt hanging over the Pakistan series had a huge impact on Wednesdays auction. Hyderabad franchise owners yesterday admitted that they furiously chased Symonds in the belief that the tour would be cancelled. But they denied any knowledge of his statement that suggested he would pull out of the trip.Speculation has been rife that the eight franchises at the auction believed Symonds would be free to play every game in the first season of the IPL. The leagues co-founder, Inderjit Singh Bindra, said last night: I have a suspicion the corporates had more knowledge then we did.I could not believe how much was bid for Symonds, the bidding was incredible, very fast. I am sure the owners knew he might be available because I cant believe he is two-and-a-half times the value of Ricky Ponting, who the owners believed would not be available this year.Symonds manager Matt Fearon said he was not in contact with franchise owners before the auction. Hyderabad co-owner N. Krishnan said Symonds was the teams main target and he believed there was a good chance the Pakistan tour would be called off.We never knew about his comments but of course we always had a very strong suspicion that the tour would not go ahead, that the chances of this tour not taking place are quite high, said Krishnan, chief financial officer of the Deccan Chronicle, the newspaper company that bought the Hyderabad franchise for $US107 million.The revised tour to Pakistan is scheduled between March 29 and April 27, while Australias first match in the West Indies is slated for May 16. Allowing for two days travel and rest either side of the tours, players could appear in five or six IPL games if Nielsen waves away any training camps for the West Indies. For Symonds, five matches means roughly $550,000 in payments.Krishnan said Symonds value was in his all-round ability. We needed to have multi-tasking people %26hellip; We needed winning combinations and very strong players.
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Friday, February 22nd, 2008 at 1:31 am under