Streaker fined,
says no hard feelings...by John
Pye
BRISBANE, Australia (AP) -
Australia allrounder Andrew Symonds will likely escape any
sanction for pummeling a nude streaker with a shoulder charge
during a limited-overs international against India.
The streaker was not so lucky. Not only was he flattened by
Symonds on the pitch, he was fined 1,500 Australian dollars
(US$1,390; euro914) when he faced court Wednesday, the following
morning, on charges of wilful exposure and interfering with a
sports event.
Robert Ogilvie, 26, pleaded guilty, saying he was dared to
run on the field naked by his friends and it felt "great" to be
crunched by Symonds.
Replays of the rugby-style shoulder charge were shown
repeatedly on Australian TV on Wednesday, featured on Youtube,
and pictures appeared on newspaper pages and Web sites.
The Sydney Morning Herald headline encapsulated the
situation: "Runaway nude ends up on hard shoulder."
Ogilvie said he had no plans of bringing action for assault
against Symonds and Queensland state police said they would not
be further investigating the incident.
Symonds faced the prospect of a lengthy ban if the
International Cricket Council decided he had breached section
4.2 of the players' code of conduct relating to physical assault
on a player, official or spectator.
But Cricket Australia said Symonds had no case to answer and
the ICC indicated there would be no charge.
Australia fast bowler Stuart Clark defended Symonds in a
television interview.
"It looked like the guy was running at him, and Andrew to
some extent tried to protect himself," Clark said. "We are
trying to win a game for Australia and someone comes running on
the field because he's probably had too much to drink.
"It's hard for us because we are so focused on trying to win
this game and it's a real break in our momentum."
Symonds stood his ground and leaned into the streaker and
checked him when Australia was 34-3 in reply to India's 258-9
and needing a win to keep the best-of-three limited-overs finals
series alive.
Symonds, a muscular allrounder who once trained with
Australian National Rugby League powerhouse club the Brisbane
Broncos and considered a rugby career, did not seem distracted
by his brush with the pitch invader.
He scored 42 and put in an 89-run partnership with Matthew
Hayden (55), but it wasn't enough to force a win, with Australia
eventually losing by nine runs.
Australian players have been routinely instructed by team
officials never to make contact with spectators on the field
ever since Terry Alderman injured his shoulder in a similar
incident in the 1982-83 Ashes series and missed 18 months of
cricket.
Greg Chappell, a former Australian captain, escaped a fine
for hitting a streaker on the buttocks with a bat during a match
in Auckland, New Zealand in 1976.