Lee makes a comeback, Symonds dropped from Ashes squad

May 26th, 2009 SYDNEY - The Australian cricket team is likely to miss all rounder Andrew Symond's skills during the forthcoming Ashes series. While Ponting and Co have said that Australian cricket has to move on with or without Symonds, the Sydney Morning Herald is of the view that batting, bowling and fielding skills of this all rounder will be severely missed.

May 21st, 2009 SYDNEY - Shane Watson showed little sympathy for troubled all rounder Andrew Symonds after the Queenslander was left out of the Ashes touring squad, saying that he will be doing his utmost to capitalise on the opportunity created by Symonds's repeated off-field infringements. Watson and Test incumbent Andrew McDonald will do battle for the all-rounder spot during the Ashes series, starting from July 8.

May 20th, 2009 MELBOURNE - Former Australia skipper Allan Border today said that the 16-man touring party named by Cricket Australia for the Ashes series on Wednesday is a winning one. In an exclusive interview with Fox Sports, Border said he felt no player was unlucky to miss out - and that Andrew Symonds did not deserve a place in the squad.

May 20th, 2009 MELBOURNE - Australian captain Ricky Ponting has brushed aside concerns over the omission of troubled all rounder Andrew Symonds from this year's Ashes squad. A long-time backer of Symonds, Ponting said he believed that Australia had the talent in the squad to retain the Ashes on English soil without Symonds.

May 19th, 2009 SYDNEY - Australian captain Ricky Ponting says he wouldn't be surprised if Andrew Symonds is named in the Ashes squad tomorrow. Ponting said he expected a 16-man touring party to be named for the Ashes with the first Test starting on July 8 in Cardiff.

May 19th, 2009 SYDNEY - Australian cricket selectors will announce the Ashes squad at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) here Wednesday. After a tumultuous year in which Australia has lost two series and a string of players to injury and retirement, the Ashes could be won or lost at the selection table.

May 18th, 2009 Cape Town (S. Africa), - Former Australian batsman and now manager of the IPL franchisee Deccan Chargers, Darren Lehmann, has called on the national selectors to include all-rounder Andrew Symonds in the Ashes squad.

May 14th, 2009 SYDNEY - Australian all-rounder Shane Watson's Ashes prospects have been boosted by the news that his groin injury is only minor, but he still faces an anxious wait to see if the selectors are prepared to pick him without seeing him bowl. Scans revealed a slight groin strain and the team's medical staff hope that Watson will be fit for next month's Twenty20 World Cup.

May 14th, 2009 MELBOURNE - Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds has one week and a handful of Indian Premier League games to force his way into the Ashes squad. Symonds has three Twenty20 matches for the Deccan Chargers to win over the national selectors and unseat fellow all rounders Shane Watson or Andrew McDonald in the touring party to be named next Wednesday.

May 5th, 2009 SYDNEY - Resurgent all rounder Shane Watson and newcomer Andrew McDonald may in all probability elbow out Andrew Symonds from this years Australian squad for the Ashes. Watson's stunning return to form in the United Arab Emirates, topping the one-day series run charts against Pakistan with 271 runs at 90, may have clicked one of the final Ashes jigsaw pieces into place.

April 22nd, 2009 DUBAI - Australian cricketers have welcomed Andrew Symonds back into their fold despite his poor form, both on and off the field. Australia's acting skipper Michael Clarke said the way Symonds played in his comeback series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates would be vital to his future prospects.

April 9th, 2009 SYDNEY - Australian pacer Brett Lee might have been named in the squad for the One-day series against Pakistan but selectors' chairman Andrew Hilditch has warned that the pacer's performance will be closely monitored. It remains to be seen whether Lee can regain his place at the top of the pace pecking order, since his struggles with injury, illness and form have coincided with the emergence of Mitchell Johnson as a new leader of the attack and Peter Siddle, who claimed 12 wickets in the Tests in South Africa.

April 9th, 2009 SYDNEY - Cricket Australia's chief selector Andrew Hilditch has asked troubled all rounder Andrew Symonds to perform or perish during the limited-overs series against Pakistan to be played in United Arab Emirates from April 22. Having convinced Cricket Australia he has overcome the behavioural issues, Symonds has been granted one more chance to restore the selectors' confidence after Hilditch admitted the Queenslander had been chosen largely based on past heroics.

March 3rd, 2009 SYDNEY - A century on his debut has tipped Australian all-rounder Marcus North above Andrew Symonds and Shane Watson for the Ashes series in July. With selectors likely to take only 14 or 15 players to England, Shane Watson, Andrew Symonds and Phil Jaques could be squeezed out of the tour.

January 26th, 2009 MELBOURNE - Troubled Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds will make his return to first-class cricket from injury for Queensland's Sheffield Shield clash with Western Australia at the Gabba, Friday. The selection gives the controversial 33-year-old Queenslander one last chance to prove his form and fitness before the Test squad is selected for next month's South Africa tour.