‘He never played for money or fame, they were irrelevant to him’
"I knew Roy since the age of 17 from junior cricket. One of the most gifted athletes I’ve ever witnessed. He didn’t play for money or fame, these things were irrelevant to him. As long as he could afford to wet a line & have a cold beer, Roy was happy. First picked in any team," Lee wrote on Twitter.
Tributes continued to pour in for former Australia cricketer Andrew Symonds, who died in a car accident on Sunday. Symonds' teammate and former Australia pacer Brett Lee shared a moving tribute for the all-rounder. Lee, who played 171 international matches - 24 Tests, 135 ODIs, and 12 T20Is - with Symonds between 2000 and 2009, said the former lanky cricketer never played for money or fame.
"I knew Roy since the age of 17 from junior cricket. One of the most gifted athletes I've ever witnessed. He didn't play for money or fame, these things were irrelevant to him. As long as he could afford to wet a line & have a cold beer, Roy was happy. First picked in any team," Lee wrote on Twitter.
The 46-year-old, who played 26 Tests and 198 one-day internationals from 1998 to 2009, was involved in a single-car accident outside Townsville in Queensland state on Saturday night.
Police said emergency services attempted to revive him, but he died from his injuries after the car left the road and rolled.
Pictures published by the Brisbane Courier-Mail showed a vehicle on its roof and skid marks on the road.
Symonds' fatal crash comes just months after the deaths of fellow Australian greats Warne and Marsh, who both died unexpectedly from heart attacks.
"Unfortunately I've been here too often this year under these circumstances. I actually can't quite believe it, to be honest," former Australia captain Mark Taylor told Channel Nine. "Another tragic day for cricket."
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, bowling both off-spin and medium pace, while playing many match-winning hands with his explosive middle-order batting.
Symonds was also a top-rate fielder and was a key part of Australia's back-to-back 50-over World Cup triumphs in 2003 and 2007.
Domestically, he played for Queensland for 17 seasons, while appearing for Gloucestershire, Kent, Lancashire and Surrey in the English County Championship and for Deccan Chargers and Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League.
