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 If Andrew Symonds would have been guilty of going out fishing instead of being present at a team meeting in the 1970s, he wouldn't have copped so much flak.
However deep the Symonds' no-show hurt his team and stand-in captain Michael Clarke, players like him add to the drama of cricket. Doug Walters was Australia's greatest match-winning batsman in the 1970s, but there were several times when he drifted from the straight and narrow. In most cases, his demeanours caused more laughter rather than a sour taste in the mouth like Symonds seems to have done with his team management.
Late Latif
Shane Warne's coach and former Australia leg-spinner Terry Jenner relates an incident in his book TJ Over the Top about how Walters, his roommate on the 1972-73 tour of the West Indies, woke up late for the start of one of the days in the first Test at Kingston. Jenner and swing bowler Bob Massie had been to the market to buy some records while Walters slept through his wake-up call only to be woken up by his roomie, who called from the ground.
Walters arrived 15 minutes after the first ball was bowled and took his position at the boundary fence waiting for his captain Ian Chappell to call him in. When Chappell continued to have 12th man John Benaud on the field, Walters forced the issue and ran in only to hear 'you, third man' and 'you, fine leg' for several overs from his captain.
When both met at the interval, Chappell told Walters that he hoped his tardiness wouldn't be repeated. To that, the champion batsman, said, "Can't guarantee that though." Chappell was more amused than impressed. But Walters continued to be his favourite tourist.
Apart from his wit, Walters could help win matches just like he did on a turning pitch in the third Test at Trinidad later on the tour.
Missing
In 1971, Walters had gone missing the night after scoring a hundred against the Rest of the World in Perth.
When roommate Jenner got panicky, he called Brian Taber, who discovered Walters hadn't made it to his hotel room, as he was busy enjoying some Western Australian hospitality.
Walters was known for his dislike for intense training sessions. Legend has it that he warmed up for an innings with a game of cards in the dressing room and often the last thing he did before walking out to bat was take a crack at the dart board. Walters was also known to have added considerably to the profits of cigarette company Rothmans. A genius if ever there was one!
Even captains have ended up looking foolish on the discipline front. Ask Mike Gatting, the last English skipper to win an Ashes in Australia. It was on that very tour in 1986-87 that Gatting woke up late for the tour game against Victoria in Melbourne. The reason? He had a late night in company of a friend and a bottle of port wine.
The naughty boys of cricket!
Writes Gatting in his autobiography Leading from the Front: "From the depths of my dreams I could hear Chris Broad's voice shouting, 'Gatt! Come on â we're starting in ten minutes!' I was totally confused.
"It wasn't worth lying to the Press. I told the truth. It's not as if I'm the first cricketer ever to oversleep. There have been times when nameless Australian players in the West Indies have not even made the plane for an island game. But me pitching up 20 minutes late gave the Press something to write about."
The Gatting incident did not attract the kind of 'publicity' David Gower and John Morris got for getting onto a Tiger Moth biplane and flying over the ground during England's tour game against Queensland on the 1991-92 tour. The team management which included a taskmaster in skipper Graham Gooch found that unacceptable and both offenders paid the price.
The late Indian batting star Dilip Sardesai was appointed manager of the Indian team during a home series against the West Indies. At midnight he discovered three young players hadn't returned to the hotel so he decided to 'welcome' them. Unaware of who was seated in the lobby, the trio entered only to see their high spirits washed away by the sight of their livid manager.
The Symonds incident appears tame as compared to what England coach Duncan Fletcher had to deal with during the 2006-07 Ashes as he saw star all-rounder Andrew Flintoff enter the practice arena under the influence of alcohol. There was a full stop to the training session that day. But reprimand or no reprimand, cricket will continue to witness digressions from its more colourful characters. It will not make their managements happy but will keep adding to the game's folklore. | 
