Andrew Symonds

Melbourne: Andrew Symonds might have been recalled to the Australia team despite a mediocre domestic performance, but chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch has issued a warning to the troubled all-rounder, saying it’s high time he performed or he will have to perish.

Hilditch said Symonds, who has had a problem with his lifestyle in the recent past, deserves one last opportunity to prove himself and has been selected in the squad largely because of his past heroics.

“He’s obviously not performed domestically as well as we or he would have liked. So we really had to make a decision on giving him an opportunity to see how he was going or not prior to the Twenty20 World Championships in June,” he said.

“We thought it was the right way to go but, as I’ve told Andrew, it will be up to him from now on. He has to perform. We think after everything he’s done for Australian cricket, being one of our all-time best one-day players, that he deserves this opportunity. But it will be up to him now to seize that chance,” he added.

Symonds, playing for Queensland, had a disappointing outing in the domestic circuit this season, scoring just 197 runs in eight first-class matches at an average of 15.15.

Meanwhile, skipper Ricky Ponting, who alongwith Michael Hussey and Mitchell Johnson, has been rested for the ODI and Twenty20 series against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi and Dubai from April 22, welcomed Symonds’ inclusion in the squad.

“He’s a very important player in our overall set-up. Yes, he is working through his fair share of issues and everything. But once he gets back around us, I’m sure that he’ll have an impact on our team with his on-field performances,” he was quoted as saying by a local newspaper. Symonds said he was ready to return and has worked hard for it.

“That’s not something I’ve ever taken for granted so it’s going to be pretty rewarding to be a part of the side, considering I’ve worked hard to get back,” the all-rounder said.

Lee will be given a chance to regain his place in the pace battery.

“He (Lee) will need to get cricket under his belt, and we’ll need to look at how we do that, but at the moment it’s a step-by-step (process),” Hilditch said. “He’s got to get back to bowling full pace before we can make any decisions. Everybody is on trial, really.”