Andrew Symonds Goes Down Memory Lane With Shane Warne, Looks Back at Maiden Test Hundred | WATCH

Former Australia cricketer Andrew Symonds passed away after a fatal car crash in Queensland. The 46-year-old was among the most prominent faces across the world thanks to his on-field as well as off-field instincts. Although, he had a number of moments in the field, the most memorable being his debut hundred at the Ashes 2006-07. This was the 4th Test match and England had already lost the Ashes. Even then, they had mounted a great comeback in the dead rubber, reducing Australia to 84/5 after being bundled out for 151 odd in the first innings. In came Symonds.

“I remember we were in trouble, we were 4/80 something. And Matthew Hayden was my batting partner and the Poms were onto me. Kevin Pietersen…,” Symonds can be seen recalling in a video which is going viral.

“I was very nervous as I had to score some runs or else my place was under pressure. I got 20 runs and my feet started to move,” Symonds can be heard telling Shane Warne who died in March.

“Then I started to get into a nice rhythm and we were getting into the attack. So we got through (Steve) Harmison and (Andrew) Flintoff and all these blokes. And then they brought on Paul Collingwood. Hayden came to me and told me ‘don’t do anything stupid. Just hit the ball on the ground and you get a Test hundred.’”

“I just waited and waited and then launched him. I saw the ball crossing the fence and I was like ‘that’s six I think.’  I was at 95 then so I kept looking at the scorecard and then it flashed (six) on the board. Then the adrenaline really started to pump in. And then I saw Hayden come running towards me and I jumped up at him,” he said.

Symonds, who was known to knock out streakers with brute force, did some damage to Hayden as he hugged him so tight that Hadyen had a spot on his forehead.

“I remember that night, we were having a beer, and he had this big yelp on his forehead. I asked him ‘mate, what happened to your head, he said you crushed my helmet that hard.’ So I guess at those moments you don’t realize your strength because of adrenaline.”

The larger-than-life Symonds was hugely popular, not only for his hard-hitting approach to the game but also for his easy-going personality. He was widely considered one of the most skilled all-rounders Australian cricket has seen and was a key member of the team that won back-to-back 50-over World Cups in 2003 and 2007.