Sydney: The shocking allegations of an Under-19 cricketer Jamie Mitchell, who claims to have been raped on the tour of India and Sri Lanka, is been investigated by the police and the Cricket Australia chief on Monday said that they are assisting the police investigation. The news was first reported by national broadcaster ABC on Sunday.
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"We acknowledge and applaud the courage of Jamie Mitchell in speaking out about his experience," the governing body said in a statement, adding that it was "fully assisting" a police probe.
"We have no tolerance for any form of abuse," said Cricket Australia chief Nick Hockley. "Instead of being a highlight of my cricketing life, that tour has caused me trauma and distress over many years," Mitchell said in a statement released by his lawyers to Australian media. Mitchell had alleged that he was sexually assaulted on the last night of the tour to India and Sri Lanka in Colombo in 1985. "Cricket Australia has a chance to distinguish itself by facing up to this issue and doing the right thing. "And that means transparency, starting with proper answers to many questions. I'm going to send a list of them to Cricket Australia." Former Australia captain Greg Chappell, who was also the national selector at that time, reacted to the allegations and was hopeful that it will be dealt empathetically. "I would hope that CA will respond in a human way and deal empathetically with the individuals rather than try to defend the organisation," he said. "It was a shocking revelation. I would have hoped nothing like that had happened, but realism tells you that other areas of life have seen that sort of thing go on." (With AFP Inputs)