- Stuart MacGill is alleged to have supplied cocaine in Sydney
- Pleaded not guilty at the Sydney Downing Center on Friday
- Leg-spinner will be tried in November this year
Australian cricketer Stuart MacGill will go on trial later this year as he fights allegations he was involved in a large-scale cocaine deal.
MacGill faced the Downing Center District Court in Sydney on Friday, where he formally entered a not guilty plea to one charge of participating in the supply of a large commercial quantity of a prohibited drug for his alleged role in a $500,000 cocaine deal 330,000.
He will now stand trial in November this year, with the hearing expected to last five to seven days.
The cult leg spinner has been out on bail since his arrest in September last year.
According to court documents, MacGill is alleged to have participated in the supply of a kilogram of cocaine in Neutral Bay, on Sydney’s lower north shore, between April 1 and 14, 2021.
MacGill took 208 wickets in his 44 Test appearances for Australia during his career
The investigation into MacGill began after he was allegedly abducted from outside his Cremorne apartment in April 2021.
He was allegedly taken to a property in Bringelly in Sydney’s south-west where he was assaulted, threatened with a gun and demanded for money.
Six men have been charged in connection with the alleged kidnapping, have pleaded not guilty and are still in court.
They were scheduled to stand trial, but that was postponed after MacGill was indicted.
Last month, MacGill’s lawyer Thos Hodgson said outside court that his client had “suffered greatly” and that he would defend the allegations.
MacGill has repeatedly stated that he was not involved in any wrongdoing.
“I know I didn’t do anything wrong,” he told A Current Affair in 2021.
MacGill took 208 wickets in his 44 Test appearances for Australia during his career.