Symonds in the spotlight

POTCHEFSTROOM, South Africa, Feb 19 AAP - Taciturn all-rounder Andrew Symonds may have silenced his critics with his match-winning century in Australia's opening World Cup match but his new-found fame means he can't escape the spotlight anymore.

Symonds admits he's shied away from attention in the past but these days he has to front up to the media and talk, not his favourite pastime.

As Australia gears up for the next stage of the tournament, he said he was looking forward to being thrown into his next big test: combating batsmen certain to target his medium-pacers-cum-off-spinners as the weak link in the Australian attack.

"That's not a bad challenge," he drawled, a toothpick between his teeth, every bit a country boy.

If he wasn't an international cricketer, Symonds said he would be a fisherman or a farmer.

For a while, a few of his critics would rather have seen him in either of those roles.

The number of knockers probably doubled with every poor outing but his blitzkrieg of an innings against Pakistan, 143 from 125 balls, proved he was ripe for the big time, and left everybody else with egg on their faces.

"I'm never too worried about proving to people what I can and can't do," he said.

"I'm not big on publicity - I don't read the newspaper. If I see anything about myself, it's on TV. People have probably been entitled to write what they have over the last year or so, but a player doesn't get to defend himself.

"Sometimes the media makes out that you're not trying. I don't go out there to shut people up in the press and media. You go out there to do it for your team, your country and yourself - getting the confidence and probably the belief in yourself that you can actually do it at this level.

"I'm looking forward to my next important innings now to see how I'm going to approach it - I'm quite excited about it."

Symonds said the main satisfaction he gained from his first ton for Australia was derived from helping his team-mates out of a difficult situation, 4-86, and repaying the long-term support he had received from captain Ricky Ponting, who pushed hard for him in the World Cup selection room.

"I've always had a good rapport with him and I can feel the confidence he has in me," said Symonds, who shared a 87-ball, 60-run partnership with Ponting that swung momentum Australia's way en route to an 82-run win.

"He's very keen for me to do well and contribute. Steve Waugh was the same when he was captain - when I first played he was throwing me in early a lot. Ricky was always coming down the pitch saying 'next ball' so we weren't sitting there admiring our shots.

"It was a satisfying innings because of the circumstances of the game. Ricky was under a lot of pressure too, because he was the last specialist batsman. I was determined we would post a total to defend."

Symonds' troubles were frustrating for followers because all the tools - massive hitting, good technique, sound bowling, brilliant fielding - were going to waste. He kept getting out to loose strokes and being hit for boundaries. His lightning-fast work in the field, both catching and on the ground, was the only constantly positive contribution.

It might be premature to call Symonds' century a turning point because he hasn't batted or bowled since, but his mood and demeanour at training, where he has been crunching everything thrown his way, indicates there are more good times ahead, more big innings.

"Now I've got something there that's concrete and I can refer back to that," he said.

"I guess now I've got the confidence because I know I can do it against the best teams in the world. I'll use that. Whether you'd call it a turning point, I don't know. Hopefully it is."