Break will benefit Symonds: Chappell

Melbourne, Sep 4 : Greg Chappell feels the break for troubled all-rounder Andrew Symonds following his fishing fiasco in Darwin will do him a world of good.

Chappell, who is now head coach at Australia's Centre of Excellence in Brisbane, said there were times when he needed to step away from cricket, most notably the 1981 Ashes tour of England.

"It is so personal," Chappell was quoted as saying in The Australian. "He (Symonds) needs to have time away from the game and work out what is important for him."

"Hopefully he decides playing for Australia is very important because he is a terrific cricketer and we all want to see him playing as long as possible.

"I missed a few tours towards the end of my career because I knew I needed that break if I wanted to keep playing. You have to work out for yourself what's important and what is best for you at such times," Chappell said.

Symonds was sent home from Darwin Saturday, missing the three-match one-day series against Bangladesh, after skipping a compulsory team meeting the previous day to go fishing.

--IANS