Melbourne, Nov 09: Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds insists that he is still friends with vice-captain Michael Clarke, who had supported his ouster from the team after the `gone fishing` episode.
Symonds said the much-talked about rift is a thing of past and he has been in touch with Clarke during Australia`s ongoing Test series against India.
"I was really happy for ( Michael Clarke) when he scored that ton in the last Test. It seemed like he`d been carrying a bit of weight on his shoulders. I spoke to him before that Test started and we`ve been texting a bit," Symonds said referring to Clarke`s hundred in the drawn third Test in New Delhi.
Symonds, in his just-released book `Roy on the Rise: A Year of Living Dangerously`, writes that he holds no grudges against Clarke for supporting his ouster in Darwin after he missed a team meeting to go fishing.
"In Darwin, he was in a position where he had to make a decision and I was in a position where I`d lost my spot in the Australian side."
"I haven`t exactly been a choir boy," he quipped.
Symonds said he looks forward to sharing a few on-field partnerships with Clarke when he returns to the team.
"Hopefully me and him can have some innings in the future and some times together that will really bond us back as closely as we were."
"But our friendship is still very much alive, hopefully it will bring us closer together," he said.
Symonds, who underwent counselling after claiming to have lost his desire to play cricket after the Darwin snub, may be selected for this month`s Test series against New Zealand starting November 20.
Bureau Report
