Gritty Symonds confident of bringing back the good times

Andrew Symonds has said that his match winning performance against Pakistan in the second ODI has re-instilled some of the lost confidence due to a series of off-field infractions and on-field failures.

Cracking a brilliant 58 in tough conditions and taking two wickets as well as a superb catch, Symonds played a pivotal role in helping Australia level the series.

"It's great to be back,'' the Queensland all-rounder said. ''I really enjoyed the last two games; the first game was very disappointing to lose. That was a feeling I haven't had for a while so it's nice to bounce back,” he said.

Symonds, after being ignored for the India tour, had struggled for form in Australia's domestic season too. Since undergoing knee surgery following the Boxing Day Test, he failed on his return for Queensland and was left out of the South Africa tour.

When asked about the period he was dropped from the team, Symonds admitted: "It was very frustrating. My frustration increased when the team began losing. It was frustrating to sit and watch and feel very helpless,” he was quoted as saying.

"I desperately wanted to be there and be helping and that was the feeling. With a win now, hopefully we will start getting a roll on from here. We can continue to improve from here as it was a good effort from all of us," he added.

Despite not being in the best of form, Symonds was picked for the series against Pakistan as the selectors wanted to test him before the Twenty20 to be held in England next month and then the all important Ashes.

Symonds agreed that the ongoing series is a very important one for him.

"Yeah, this is a very important tour for me, I have to do very well, I think, but more importantly it's important that the team do well, we haven't probably achieved as a team as much as we would have liked to," he said.