Michael Slater was charged with, among other things, stalking or intimidation and violating a restraining order.© AFP
Michael Slater, the former Australian Test batsman, has dropped allegations of domestic stalking and harassment against him under mental health laws. A magistrate in Sydney dismissed the charges against the 52-year-old at a hearing on Wednesday, instead placing Slater under the care of a mental health doctor, according to court documents Thursday. Slater, who played Test cricket for Australia from 1993 to 2001, scoring 5,312 runs, was charged with stalking or intimidation, violating a restraining order and using a carriage service – such as a phone, email or social media – to threaten harass, or insult.
On the eve of Slater’s hearing on Wednesday at Sydney’s Waverley Local Court, police said they had been called to an apartment in the city’s Manly district following a report of domestic violence.
On arrival Tuesday evening, police were told a 52-year-old man allegedly assaulted a 35-year-old woman, a New South Wales police spokesman said.
The man, commonly known as Slater but not officially named by police, has been taken to Northern Beaches Hospital for assessment under mental health legislation, the police spokesman said.
Slater’s hospitalization was noted by the prosecutor during the trial, according to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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Magistrate Ross Hudson said there appeared to have been an “unraveling” of Slater’s mental health, the paper reported.
Opening batsman Slater played 74 Tests for Australia, scoring 14 centuries and a best of 219 against Sri Lanka at Perth in 1995.
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