Ponting saddened by Symonds

Australia's Andrew Symonds will play no part in the upcoming ICC World Twenty20 following his latest breach of discipline

Australia captain Ricky Ponting admits Andrew Symonds has let the whole team down after the all-rounder was withdrawn from his country's ICC World Twenty20 squad for disciplinary reasons.

Symonds will be sent home to Australia after breaching team rules regarding alcohol.

The incident is the latest in a long line of indiscretions involving Symonds and Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland has confirmed the offer of a central contract to the 33-year-old will be re-assessed.

Speaking at The Oval, Ponting said: “I’m disappointed. We’re losing one of our better players and performers. But we have to move on from it.

“We have our first game (of the World Twenty20) on Saturday, and the wheels are in motion to get a replacement as soon as possible.

“I’m not going into specifics. He’s broken a number of his own commitments to himself and broken some team rules. He’s let his team-mates down, he’s let himself down and he’s let Cricket Australia down.”

Ponting refused to be drawn on whether Symonds had played his last game for Australia.

“It was the last straw for him on this tour,” he added. “James Sutherland has already spoken about contracts etc, all of that is out of my hands.

Andrew is contracted until June 30 this year, and it’s the decision of the Cricket Australia board what happens.”

Ponting claimed the decision had not been a difficult one to come to.

He added: “There is no doubting his ability as a player. There are issues happening in his personal life which made the decision a relatively easy one.”

And the Australia captain now wants to forget about the incident and concentrate on the upcoming tournament.

“This is not wholly and solely about Andrew Symonds,” he said. “This is about the wider picture of the Australian cricket team.

Mike Hussey feels the loss of Symonds is "a real shame" but insists his Australia team-mates must not become distracted

“Little incidents like this that happen certainly don’t have the best outcome. That’s what this decision is all about - the bigger picture.”

Batsman Mike Hussey agrees that the Australian players cannot afford to let the controversy distract them from the business in hand - starting with Saturday’s clash against West Indies.

“It’s a real shame, he’s a great mate and a great player but we have to move on and concentrate on the cricket,” said the former Durham player.

“We’ve got to concentrate on our preparations and make sure we are 100% ready for the West Indies on Saturday. We can’t afford to let it affect our preparations.

“He’s a great player so it’s definitely a loss for us but we’ve got other capable players who can come in and fill the breach.

“I feel bad for the guy, I really hope he can get any issues sorted out and I hope he can still play cricket for Australia because he’s shown over a long period of time how good a player he is.

“It’s a big loss, there’s no question, but we have other good players and in Twenty20 you have to be a bit flexible with your team anyway. With Andrew Symonds in our line-up we are probably more structured but now we have to be more flexible.”

England captain Paul Collingwood added: “I’m sure it was a very difficult decision for Ricky and the team management to make but I’m sure they’ve got their reasons to do that.

“Professional sports is a difficult arena to be in at times, but you have to make strong decisions whether they are personal decisions or for the team.”