Axing Symonds for being 'too Australian" wrong, says former cricketer Jones

Melbourne, June 5 (ANI): Former Australian cricketer Dean Jones has criticized Cricket Australia and the team management for axing Andrew Symonds, and suggested that he has paid a price for being "too Australian."

"He just had a beer and supported Queensland's big win over NSW ... He left the hotel without telling anyone. Can you imagine that in the old days with Dennis Lillee or Jeff Thompson having to tell the manager where they were going. It's a security reason for whatever reason," " Jones told Radio 3AW today.

Symonds went missing from Australia's team hotel in an indiscretion described as the "final straw" resulting in the troubled cricketer being sent home before the Twenty20 world championships.

"Broadly speaking, he broke team rules. He broke team rules by going out when he wasn't suppose to, by ... leaving the hotel without advising where he had gone, all of that is in breach to team rules," Cricket Australia's general manger of public affairs Peter Young told Radio 3AW today.

But Jones today questioned whether players would want to continue playing for Australia with such restrictive rules.

"Is he being nailed too hard on this one? Evidently he's just had one or two drinks. They never said he was drunk. If they are nailing him on the fact he has had a drink or turned up drunk or whatever, well we've got a problem ... but for God's sake, if you can't leave your hotel? I know there's security and I can understand in Pakistan and India, gee but do you have to tell management where you are going everywhere now? I'd hate that," Jones said.

"It's a team rule evidently, I don't know who's brought it in. But I wouldn't like to be playing for Australia if I've got those team rules. If he's got drunk, I'd have no hassles throwing the book at him. I just find it's Big Brother telling you what to do at the moment," said Jones, predicting Symonds would now go on and make plenty of money by playing in the Indian Premier League and other competitions.

"Do many kids want to play for Australia now when there is so much money available elsewhere? The tradition of playing for Australia has completely changed," he said. (ANI)