Symonds sent home for discipline breach

CRICKET: DARWIN, Australia, Aug 30; - Star Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds has been sent home from the one-day series against Bangladesh for breaching discipline, cricket officials said Saturday.

Symonds was set to play in Saturday’s opening game here, but instead was heading back to Queensland after missing a team meeting on Friday and will play no part in the series.

Cricket Australia (CA) officials said team leadership had suggested on Friday night that Symonds be sent home. Symonds missed the compulsory meeting because he went fishing, and also skipped a later optional training session.

It is not the first time Symonds has been in trouble with team officialdom.

In 2005, he was suspended for two games after a drinking binge just before Australia suffered its only loss to Bangladesh in one-day cricket.

He also missed the team bus in the West Indies in June and was involved in an ongoing dispute with the Indians last summer.