There should be no tears over a 36-year-old calling it a day but with Andrew Symonds there will always be a tinge of regret.

Symonds' hubris won him few friends among opposition supporters and a fair few enemies in Australia, but no-one could deny that he was an awesome player - as good a matchwinner as anyone on his day.

Although his problems with alcohol were known from 2005, when he turned up for an ODI against Bangladesh under the influence, it was only after Monkeygate that he truly lost the plot and the manner in which he deteriorated is what leaves a sour taste in the mouth.

It's easy to draw parallels between that controversy and the recent one involving footballers Luis Suarez and Patrice Evra. Both Symonds and Evra claimed racial abuse; both Harbhajan Singh and Suarez denied this and said it was down to a cultural misunderstanding.

Without going into the nitty-gritty of those cases - because there is no shortage of details in either and both tend to spark ugly debates, from which nobody walks away feeling any better - we should all be able to agree that vilification of sportsmen who have reported racial abuse should be condoned in no uncertain terms.

The exception of course is when the accusations are found to have no basis whatsoever, but that did not apply in either case.

Add the fact that Symonds had previously been racially abused by the crowd during an ODI in India and it's indisputable that he deserved better support from his board both during and after the saga.

Whatever your views on that regrettable episode, Symonds was clearly disillusioned by the experience and appeared to lose his commitment to the team cause, adopting a 'me versus the world' approach as he felt abandoned by Cricket Australia.

Perhaps they bought Symonds' famous steely glare, because instead of recognising they had a sensitive soul on their hands and adopting an 'arm round the shoulder' policy, Cricket Australia took an increasingly hard line on him which ultimately led to the allrounder's banishment from the 2009 World Twenty20 over a trivial offence. A tough guy on the surface, ultimately it appears that he was somewhat misunderstood.

He never played for Australia again, which was to both his and his country's detriment - during an extended transitional phase, Australia could certainly have done with Symonds' never-say-die attitude.

There was an obvious irony in him finding refuge in India, and it was telling that he thanked both the Mumbai Indians and the Indian Premier League in his farewell statement but made no mention of Australia. This, let us not forget, is a two-time World Cup winner.

In the IPL he reminded us of his striking power, but also his ability to inspire younger teammates when he felt appreciated by those around him.

It's true that he had a foul mouth, driven by an competitive streak bordering on the unhealthy, which led him to that famous confrontation with Harbhajan. And he was a prickly bugger who often refused to play the press' game.

He had a role in his own downfall, no doubt, but he also deserves some sympathy.

He won't be forgotten - if nothing else he'll always be remembered for the most remarkable act in streaking history.

It's just a pity that we only saw Roy at his peak in the international game for such a short period, and that it all ended in with a sense of unease.