Shame about Roy

Is he still committed to Australia? © Getty Images Enlarge

"It's so hard to play for this team. In my opinion we are the greatest sporting team in the world, and we have standards. They may be higher than other teams, but if you don't fulfil those standards, unfortunately, you're not going to be a part of our squad... The main concern for us as a leadership group and a team is commitment to the team. That isn't just about on the field - that's off the field, that's attitude. There are a number of things we believe he wasn't fulfilling."
Michael Clarke, part of the leadership group, lays down the law

"Andrew's going to take some time to reflect on what's happened. He's still committed to playing cricket at the highest level. How he goes about doing that and how it plays out I don't know. Whether it means India I don't know."
Matt Fearon, Symonds' manager, doesn't quite know what is going on with his client

"I have been asked to think about what is important to me and I will take this time to do that. I would ask that during this time, people respect my privacy and that of my friends and family. I would like to say thanks for the many messages of support I have received over the past day or so."
Symonds says the right things

"He's not going to be built up with pressure with the spinners where it's dot ball after dot ball, which is going to be important when we get to India. [During the Bangladesh game] I thought, gee it would be great to have Symmo here to come in and smack a few to put the pressure back on the Bangladeshi bowlers a bit. But it's the way it is."
Michael Hussey misses Symonds, but not enough to ask for any special treatment for him

"It was a surprise, but there were issues last summer that have been well documented. Our role is, obviously, we're here to support Andrew. We've been in discussion with his manager and look to put in place the best possible support for him... We just need to get to the bottom of things and work out what's the best way to move forward."
Paul Marsh, the chief executive of the Australian Cricketers' Association, gets all forensic

"They've done the right thing by sending him home. There's got to be consistency in the group and you've got to stand for something. You can't have players doing that sort of stuff. He's got to have a good look at what he's doing for sure. He's got to re-assess where he's at if he's doing these things. It's not the first time."
Steve Waugh suggests he wouldn't have taken Symonds' indiscretions if he was still captain

"Missing a team meeting is not a hanging offence. We have focused on a duty of care for Andrew and we are concerned about his mental welfare. He had a long and demanding summer."
A Cricket Australia source uses the velvet-glove approach

"He wasn't organised enough to understand his commitments that day. That to me raises concerns about how and what sort of space he is in, in his own mind and that's the discussion we had with him... But how long is a piece of string? I don't know if Roy [Symonds] would understand or know how long it's going to take. I certainly don't."
Tim Nielsen, Australia's coach, is ready for the India tour without Symonds