Cricket: Sonny Bill praises streaker smash (+photos, video)

Shoulder charge expert Sonny Bill Williams was impressed with Andrew Symonds' technique. Photo / Getty Images

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Kiwis forward Sonny Bill Williams says he was impressed by the shoulder charge delivered by Australian cricketer Andrew Symonds on a streaker in Brisbane on Tuesday.

Symonds decked naked streaker Robert Ogilvie while he was batting during the tri-series one-day final won by India.

"I'd be happy with that," hard-hitting Bulldogs second-rower Williams told

The Sydney Morning Herald

.

Symonds once contemplated a career in rugby league and trained in the off-season with the Brisbane Broncos four years ago.

"I'm glad he chose cricket by the looks of that tackle," Williams said.

"Or if he did, I would like him in my side. He got that streaker vertical. It's always a good sign of a big tackle when you can get both of the other guy's feet off the ground."

Williams is one of the best exponents of the shoulder charge, a defensive technique outlawed in rugby union and at lower levels of rugby league.

"I do it to pump my teammates up," Williams said.

"If we're struggling and defending five or six sets in a row, I'll try to pull one off. But to be honest, only about half of them come off. You have to time it perfectly."

Former Queensland hard man Trevor Gillmeister reckoned Symonds still had to work on his technique.

"He didn't drive through properly," said the man known as The Axe.

"He didn't finish the tackle off. And if he's ever going to make it in rugby league, he might want to put a cheap shot in there somewhere, too."

- NZPA