Fox Cricket commentator Mark Waugh admits “it’s hard” without his late colleagues and former teammates Shane Warne and Andrew Symonds at the Big Bash League for the first time.
Fellow Fox Cricket commentator Adam Gilchrist paid tribute to the late Warne and Symonds before play in the first BBL12 game of the summer.
“We love the Big Bash, it’s our favourite time of the year,” Gilchrist said in a teary moment caught on camera.
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“You know it was Warnie and Roy’s as well, which makes this so hard.
“Their record on the field was well documented – they were national icons, they were our icons, our favourites here in the commentary box on Fox Cricket.
“The game goes on, it always does – but we miss our two mates.”
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Warne and Symonds were regulars in the Fox Cricket commentary box over the years, before their tragic deaths in March and May respectively.
“It’s going to be a tough summer because we’re going to think of them everyday,” Gilchrist admitted.
“What beautiful characters they were.
“It’s going to be fun remembering them and keeping that legacy going.”
Part of that legacy is the newly announced Andrew Symonds Fox MVP award.
One commentator will vote on the player of the match after each game, with the winner awarded at the end of the BBL12 campaign.
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“(They’re) great mates and great guys as well. We grew up with them and we played a lot with those two guys. It’s hard they’re not here,” Waugh said.
“You think you’re going to live forever.”
Fox Cricket paid tribute to the late duo before the Sydney Thunder v Melbourne Stars game at Manuka Oval, with plenty of hilarious takes shown.
Among the funny moments shared were Warne’s take on why seagulls face a certain direction and Symonds’ classic take on analytics and his thoughts on the “gravitational pull” on the stumps.
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“The BBL was where they had fun,” Gilchrist said.
“They were cheeky. A little bit naughty. Their banter was brilliant and educational – sort of.
“What they said made sense most of the time.”
“We’ll have to look up that seagull stuff and see if it’s true,” Waugh laughed.
