'I am completely empty...': Stuart MacGill opens up on life after cocaine case and family struggle

Stuart MacGill opens up on life after cocaine case

Former Australian leg spinner Stuart MacGill stated in his first interview following his conviction in the drug case that he becomes "very anxious," has been having trouble finding work, and worries about the psychological effects on his children.

‘”I don’t care what people are saying about me, but I do care what was happening to the kids and I know it has been very difficult for them,” MacGill told the Howie Games podcast.

MacGill was found guilty of a cocaine deal and was sentenced to community service. McGill, 54, was charged with helping his partner's brother and a cocaine dealer make a deal.

MacGill had set up a meeting beneath his restaurant on Sydney's north shore and was the link in a $330,000 deal for a kilogram of cocaine. The former Test leg-spinner, however, said that he frequently bought half a gram of cocaine for $200 from the dealer, although he denied knowing that a deal would take place.

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“I am very lucky because depression has never been a big thing for me. I get anxious. I won’t lie about that. I get very anxious. People talk about the half-full half-empty situation – well, I’ve always said I’m neither of them, I’m completely empty. And the reason I say that is because if today is the worst day of your life, tomorrow is going to be slightly fuller.”

MacGill, who took 208 wickets from 44 Tests for Australia, stated that he is attempting to turn his life around by using the skills he has gained from playing cricket.

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“If you hit rock bottom there is sunshine ahead,’ MacGill said. If anything particularly bothers me, I just don’t think about it. I learned that through playing Test cricket. If you have a bad day, don’t buy a paper. If you have a good day, buy every paper in the stand.”

He is concerned about how his children may be affected psychologically by the legal issues. “My kids have had to put up with it. I can just turn the media off but… it is very difficult for kids to turn social media off.”

Despite having some employment as a cricket coach, MacGill also discussed the challenges of getting a steady job.

“I’m doing my coaching but other than that I’m not really working much which is a pain because I have a pretty active mind and trying to shut that off is hard work,’ he said. “Lots of TV. But I don’t mind my own company, which is a good thing. I get lonely sometimes, but I think that’s happened to a lot of people since Covid…My network used to be a big part of who I was. I knew a lot of people and I have closed that right down since I have needed to manage my own environment a little bit more carefully.”