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MARK Vermeulen.
Banned cricket ace in hot water again
Lee Sykes8/11/2006
A FORMER Werneth cricket professional banned six weeks ago for throwing a ball into the crowd is in trouble again after being charged with arson.
Mark Vermeulen, a former Zimbabwean Test player, is accused of two counts of aggravated arson relating to a huge fire at the country's national cricket academy in Harare, and a smaller fire at club offices.
The centre was gutted in the blaze and Vermeulen was questioned by police in the African state before being formally charged. Batsman Vermeulen, 27, has played eight Tests for Zimbabwe, the last in 2004.
He hit the headlines locally in September following an angry confrontation with spectators at a match in Ashton when he was playing for Werneth. After being smashed for successive boundaries and then bowling a wide, he responded to the crowds jeers by throwing the ball into the pavilion, leaving families running for cover. Scuffles followed with officials and Werneth's captain opted to concede the game.
At the time, eyewitness Graham Derbyshire told the Advertiser: "He completely lost the plot. He was like a raging bull."
And Howard Donsfield, CLL chairman, and a former Werneth chairman, said: "I was at the game and hope I don't ever see anything like it again - it was a sad sight for cricket.
"Discipline is a big issue for me at present and I'm determined to stamp anything like this out. It's not just about spectators either - there was a 15-year-old boy among Vermeulen's team-mates and it's not the kind of example he should set."
Vermeulen was later questioned by police after an incident at his flat. The Zimbabwean apologised to the club and his team-mates, and described his actions as "totally unacceptable".
A cricket disciplinary hearing handed down a 10-year-ban but this was later reduced to three years, two of which were suspended. This appeared to open the door for Vermeulen to return to English cricket in a year but these latest developments may put that in jeopardy.
In 2003 Vermeulen was sent home from a tour of England while representing his country after refusing to travel with his teammates. However, he had expressed a desire to win his place back in the national team.
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18/11/2006 at 11:38
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Magistrate Omega Mugumbate agreed to a defence application for the adjournment in order to allow Eric Matinenga, Vermeulen's lawyer, to free up his schedule. Matinenga is a leading advocate who also represented Zimbabwe's main opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirayi, after he was accused of engaging the services of a Canadian political consultancy firm to assassinate President Robert Mugabe and topple his government in a coup. He was released on bail but has to report to the police on a daily as well as surrender his passport. He faces two counts of arson and if found guilty he could be convicted to up to 25 years in prison with hard labour.
21/11/2006 at 14:49