Stuart MacGill pleads guilty to drink driving after Sydney long lunch

‘Slurring’, three times over the limit Stuart MacGill is hit with drink driving conviction after the Test cricket great jumped behind the wheel to pick-up takeaway that was ‘taking too long’

  • Stuart MacGill, 48, has been convicted of drink driving after a boozy long lunch
  • The Australian Test cricket great was caught with a bloody alcohol level of 0.132
  • MacGill had ‘unknown number’ of glasses of wine at a boozy lunch in November
  • That night he drove to collect takeaway food which was taking too long to arrive

Cricket great Stuart MacGill pleaded guilty to drink driving in Manly Local Court this week

A drunk Stuart MacGill was ‘slurring his words and unsteady on his feet’ when he got behind the wheel of his convertible sports car after a boozy long lunch.

The Australian cricket great had enjoyed an ‘unknown number of glasses of red wine’ when police pulled him over on Military Road, in Sydney’s north shore, late on November 21.

MacGill, 48, returned a reading of 0.132 in a breath test – nearly three times the legal limit, The Daily Telegraph reports. 

The spin bowling star – who played 44 Tests for Australia – fronted Manly Local Court on Thursday where he pleaded guilty to one charge of mid-range drink driving.

MacGill told the court he never normally drove when drunk, but had gone to collect takeaway food for his two teenage children from an eatery ‘two blocks away’ because it was taking too long to be delivered.

MacGill (above with fellow Australian cricket greats Steve Waugh, left, and Adam Gilchrist, right) had driven drunk to collect food from a nearby eatery because it was taking too long to be delivered

MacGill (above with fellow Australian cricket greats Steve Waugh, left, and Adam Gilchrist, right) had driven drunk to collect food from a nearby eatery because it was taking too long to be delivered

A wine lover, since retiring from international and domestic cricket MacGill has gone on to host a Foxtel TV show called ‘Uncorked’ and currently runs a restaurant.

The court heard he had enjoyed a number of glasses of red wine during a two-and-a-half hour lunch with friends on a Thursday late last month. 

Later that night after returning home, he ordered takeaway for his teenage children.

When it was slow to arrive he decided to drive to the nearby restaurant to pick it up himself – at which point he was stopped by police.

Court documents said police officers noticed MacGill was struggling to walk or talk when he got out of his vehicle.

MacGill represented himself in court and told Magistrate Mark Richardson: ‘I work in a restaurant and I have never, ever considered driving after consuming alcohol.’

The spin bowling great said he had been left ‘very embarrassed’ by the incident.

‘I made a poor choice… it was not the best decision I could have made,’ MacGill told the court.

MacGill (left) has had a troubled time post-cricket and in 2017 face court over an AVO taken out by police on behalf of his ex-girlfriend Julie Singleton (right)

MacGill (left) has had a troubled time post-cricket and in 2017 face court over an AVO taken out by police on behalf of his ex-girlfriend Julie Singleton (right)

MacGill represented himself in court and admitted the incident left him 'very embarrassed'. He was fined $950, lost his licence for four months and will have to have an interlock device fitted for 12 months once his suspension ends

MacGill represented himself in court and admitted the incident left him ‘very embarrassed’. He was fined $950, lost his licence for four months and will have to have an interlock device fitted for 12 months once his suspension ends

‘I understand I made a mistake… the consequences are very real.’ 

He was banned from driving for four months and fined $950. When his ban ends he will have to fit an alcohol interlock device to his car for a year.

MacGill has had a troubled time post-cricket and in 2017 agreed to an apprehended violence order (AVO) taken out by police on behalf of his ex-girlfriend Julie Singleton.

Police applied for the order after an incident between MacGill and Ms Singleton – the ex-wife of multi-millionaire John Singleton – in December 2016. 

MacGill, who has two kids with ex-wife Rachel Friend, was served the AVO on Boxing Day that year and later agreed to it in court without admitting fault.

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk