Former Test cricketer Stuart MacGill burst into tears of joy before drinking six or seven bourbons and cokes over the course of an hour and a half and allegedly terrorizing one of his best friend’s ex-partners, a court heard.
MacGill, 51, is accused of stalking and threatening his friend’s ex-girlfriend Samantha Ford while walking on a Sydney CBD street, and then in a nearby pub on February 1, 2022.
He spent that morning worrying ‘one of my best friends’ Stephen Kerlin had killed himself, because he couldn’t be contacted, MacGill told Downing Center Local Court on Tuesday.
MacGill was concerned for Kerlin’s mental health following the end of his relationship with Ms Ford several months ago, he said.
He went to Kerlin’s Barangaroo apartment after hearing that no one else could contact him.
MacGill (pictured outside court on Monday) told the court he had been drinking with his best friend Stephen Kerlin on the day of the alleged offence.
‘I rang the doorbell and he came to the door in his pajamas and I started crying,’ MacGill said.
They then celebrated, with MacGill drinking ‘six or seven’ bourbon and cokes in the apartment before kicking off at Kerlin’s favorite local, the Captain Cook Hotel.
As they walk, Kerlin spots Ms Ford, points her at MacGill and shouts at her.
”F*** off, leave us alone you b****”, things like that,’ MacGill said.
Ms Ford began to approach and MacGill told her to leave, she said.
‘My intention was to go to Captain Cook, so I was quite keen on ploughing,’ he said.
Minutes later, a bartender at the hotel told Kerlin and Ms Ford to leave following a heated argument which MacGill said he was just ‘on edge’.
The cricket great (pictured with Maria O’Meagher) revealed he was moved to tears when he saw Kerlin, who he had feared was suicidal.
Ms Ford told the court on Monday she went to the Captain Cook Hotel to tell staff not to give the couple more alcohol.
‘(MacGill) came up first, and said something like ‘f*** off you c***’, then he said he was going to call the police, and he said ‘get down, you’re not welcome here’ ,’ said Ms Ford.
Ms Ford said MacGill stood on top of her screaming abuse.
MacGill denied trying to intimidate Ms Ford or swearing at her, but agreed he pointed at Ms Ford’s face as he told her he was calling the police.
‘They were separated and had family law issues that had nothing to do with me, but I knew … we had to get out of that situation,’ MacGill said.
Captain Cook Hotel local Mark Austin told the court MacGill did not appear threatening while at the hotel, but admitted he could not hear the details of the argument.
MacGill (pictured playing in a Test against the West Indies in 2001) admitted he had not told the police everything in a recorded interview about the incident.
MacGill called Detective Sergeant Brett Whitmore, a police officer he did not associate with the contact, for advice.
‘(MacGill) said things like ‘he’s going crazy, what should I do’?’ Det Sgt Whitmore said.
‘I told him I was at home and he should contact triple zero,’ she said.
MacGill told the court he did not call triple zero, believing the incident had ended after Kerlin and Ms Ford left the hotel.
During cross-examination from prosecutor Sergeant Michael Cleaver, MacGill acknowledged he did not tell police everything when he gave a recorded interview after the incident, but denied lying to protect his friend, describing several errors in his evidence as a poor choice of words.
‘I’m a sportsman, not a wordsmith,’ MacGill told the court.
He remains on bail pending the court’s decision, which is not expected until at least April.
