Former Australian Test cricket star Stuart MacGill has joked about his alleged abduction on a podcast where he mockingly threatened to put one of the hosts in the boot of his car. MacGill had previously told police that he was forced into the boot of a car at Cremorne on Sydney’s north shore before his assailants tried to extort money from him. While the court proceedings are ongoing, MacGill made light of the allegations on an appearance with The Professor and Barney on their podcast 82 Days Till The Ashes.
MacGill is involved in an ongoing court case after allegedly being kidnapped by six men including his de facto brother-in-law Marino Sotiropoulos on April 14, 2021. Frederick Schaaf, Richard Schaaf, Elijah Schaaf, Son Minh Nguyen and Vaeluagaomatagi Feilo were also arrested and charged over an alleged incident police described as a botched cocaine deal.
McGill replied: ‘You can’t choose your friends or your family, that’s why I’m here with SOK [former Test cricket player Steven O’Keefe]. Unfortunately, let’s let’s just say if I did have the chance to choose, I probably wouldn’t choose the same.’
Co-host Andrew ‘Barney’ Barnett asked: ‘What were the selectors thinking? Were they like, Colin Miller, we need another weirdo in this team?’ While the rest of the podcast largely focused on cricket, the issue reared its head again when the panel began to discuss the time Australia played three spinners at the SCG Shane Warne, MacGill and Colin ‘Funky’ Miller.
That filled MacGill with mock outrage and he fired back: ‘That is very, very nasty. You can laugh all you like, but I hope it is a nervous laugh because I am going to be seeing you after this show.’ MacGill previously made a police statement saying he was punched repeatedly in the head and suffered a concussion during the alleged incident, but the court heard in 2022 that there was no medical evidence to back up those claims.
The Professor added: ‘You know what that means.’ ‘I’ve only got a hatchback,’ Barney said. ‘When I say I’m going to put you in the f***en boot, I mean it,’ MacGill replied as the panel laughed.
The accused men were granted conditional bail in the Supreme Court in August, 2022 and a District Court trial in Sydney has been set down for October 23, 2023. MacGill played 44 Tests for Australia, taking 208 wickets. He also featured in three one-day international matches, collecting six wickets.
The first Test of The Ashes starts on June 21 at Edgbaston. Australia drew the series against England the last time they travelled to the Old Dart for The Ashes, but have not won the series in England since 2001. He is widely regarded as the second-best Test leg spin bowler behind the great Shane Warne and would have played much more international cricket if he was born in a different era.
