Michael Slater allegedly called his ex girlfriend 18 times and sent her 66 texts in Manly, Sydney
Former cricketer Michael Slater allegedly called his ex girlfriend 18 times and sent her 66 texts within two-and-a-half hours, before he was arrested for allegedly breaching a domestic violence order.
Slater’s lawyer told Manly Local Court on Wednesday afternoon that an alcohol disorder was ‘heavily’ at play when the 51-year-old allegedly tried to contact Melanie Livesey on Tuesday night.
The sporting legend was arrested on Sydney‘s northern beaches at 7.45am today and charged with with contravene prohibition/restriction in AVO, use carriage service to menace/harass/offend and breach of bail.
Slater’s lawyer told the court that his client has only ‘slipped up once’ since the AVO was issued in October, the ABC reported.
Slater, 51, with his former partner Melanie Livesey before his arrest in October. He is accused of breaching an AVO
Michael Slater’s lawyer said alcohol was ‘heavily’ at play during the alleged offence (pictured, Slater leaves court on October 20)
He was initially refused bail, but the magistrate eventually granted bail with a warning.
‘I’m prepared to grant bail but it will be very, very strict bail and Mr Slater will be under no illusion that if he breaches bail, he’ll be back in custody,’ the magistrate said.
According to documents filed in Waverley Local Court on November 11, Slater allegedly used his mobile phone between March and October this year ‘to menace or harass’.
The intimidation allegedly occurred between October 12 and 13 in Randwick, in Sydney’s east.
He will appear in court again on December 23.
Slater had played 74 Tests for Australia between 1993 and 2001. Slater is seen with fellow cricket star Michael Clarke
Michael Slater leaves Manly Police Station after being charged over a domestic violence incident (above)
Police allege the incident unfolded just days after Slater was sensationally axed from Channel Seven’s cricket coverage.
His sacking from Channel Seven has been linked to his controversial comments criticising Australia’s travel restrictions – after he flew to India to commentate on the Indian Premier League competition and as the Covid-19 pandemic took hold.
At one stage he claimed Prime Minister Scott Morrison had ‘blood on his hands’ over his handling of the pandemic.
The retired opening batsman told the PM in a series of tweets to get on his private jet and ‘come and witness dead bodies on the street’.
‘Amazing to smoke out the PM on a matter that is a human crisis. The panic, the fear of every Australian in India is real!! How about you take your private jet and come and witness dead bodies on the street!’
Speaking after the incident, the former batsman said he was ‘completely overwhelmed’ and did not mean to be ‘disrespectful’.
Australian Test cricket great Michael Slater (pictured) was arrested over an alleged domestic stalking incident in October
‘The tweets came from a place of sheer desperation and wanting to get home to crying kids worried about their father,’ Slater preciously told The Courier Mail.
‘It got very emotional. We got to Ahmedabad and we went past a Covid testing site. We’d see all these dead bodies on the side of the road. I’ve never seen anything like it in my life. It was so horribly confronting.
‘If I had my time again, bearing in mind it could have had a link to what’s just happened to me at Channel 7, no I wouldn’t do it again.’
Slater and his partner Melanie Livesey sold their home in Randwick in August this year for $5.65million, just a year after buying it for $3.8million.
The former cricket star played in 74 Tests for Australia, scoring 5312 runs at an average of 42.83 after making his debut during the 1993 Ashes tour of England.
The opening batsman also played 42 one-day internationals, scoring just under 1,000 runs before retiring from major cricket in 2004.
Slater was recently dropped from Seven Network’s commentary team for the upcoming summer cricket season, with the network choosing not to renew his contract, citing budgetary pressures.
In 2021, Slater travelled to India to commentate on the Indian Premier League competition.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk