Ashes hero was declared bankrupt after owing £20m before making Australia comeback
Craig McDermott was a formidable fast bowler but was later forced to file for bankruptcy after a business venture went wrong
An Australian Ashes hero who terrorised English batsmen with feisty, high-pace fast bowling was declared bankrupt over tens of millions in debt from a failed property business. Craig McDermott spearheaded the Australian attack in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
He claimed eight five-wicket hauls in Ashes Tests – including record figures of 8/97 and a remarkable 32 wickets in his final full series before injuries took their toll.
But life after cricket proved a far stickier wicket for McDermott, who turned his attention to the world of business. The Queenslander was forced to file for bankruptcy after a speculative business venture went spectacularly wrong, leaving him with a £20m black hole.
Nicknamed Billy the Kid as a player, McDermott’s property company Maxen Developments Pty Ltd collapsed in 2008, owing more than £9m to investors according to liquidator Susan Carter. Over 100 fellow Queenslanders were burned by the blow-up, including one individual who lost over £300,000.
McDermott’s business also owed more than £11m, plus interest, from loans with collapsed finance company Bridgecorp. It capped off a rough year for the twice-divorced former quick, who faced the prospect of further legal action over unpaid childcare costs to his second wife.
READ MORE : England and Australia make feelings clear on Snicko as Ashes star calls for 'sacking'Three years later, McDermott turned to the world of cricket again to rebuild his life, re-joining the Australia Test set-up as the team’s new bowling coach. It was a short tenure lasting just 12 months before he abruptly quit the role over workload concerns.
The 60-year-old was widely credited for revitalising the career of Peter Siddle and introducing a certain Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc into the Test side.
He returned to a similar role in 2013 – just in time to see Mitchell Johnson skittle England’s batting line-up out in a 5-0 whitewash rout Down Under. He later had spells in coaching roles with Bangladesh and Brisbane Heat, his local Big Bash T20 League side.
But things turned sour again as McDermott dipped his toes back into the world of property investment. He was named in Supreme Court proceedings in Queensland through a new company, Aushome Developments Pty Ltd, which took out two loans totalling around £5m to finance a development project in Logan, south of Brisbane.
The company defaulted on both loans in 2022, leading the lender to take control of the project and recover extra costs. Six-foot-three-tall right-armer McDermott took 494 wickets in Tests and ODIs and was part of the Australia squad that won the 1987 Cricket World Cup.