In the shocking revelations made by a former Australian under-19 cricketer, a team official has been accused of rape. The victim has accused that former Australian cricketer Bob Bitmead had sexually assaulted him during the India and Sri Lanka tour in 1985.
Jamie Mitchell made the revelations on Sunday in an Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) report. In his allegations, he stated that he believe that a team official had raped him on a representative tour to India and Sri Lanka while he was 18. He had buried that trauma for decades.
Australian Federal Police (AFP) has been investigating the allegations. Cricket Australia said that they have been cooperating with the police investigation.
“Instead of being a highlight of my cricketing life, that tour has caused me trauma and distress over many years. Cricket Australia has a chance to distinguish itself by facing up to this issue and doing the right thing,” said Mitchell.
He has also asked if CA can produce medical records from the tour, including what he was injected with by a team doctor on two occasions.
“My focus is on getting answers and on player welfare. I’m expecting Cricket Australia to take this very seriously,” he added.
Mitchell said that he was feeling unwell on the night of March 30 in Columbo. The doctor injected him with a strong drug that knocked him out for over 10 hours.
He added that his teammates were instructed not to check up on him in his room that night. He believed that he was assaulted during that time.
“My teammates left. Anyone could have come in and had access to me,” he said.
Mitchell further revealed, “Most of the guys have said they lost me for a couple of days. They remember putting me under the shower the next morning, to get me ready for the flight. They remember trying to dress me. And when we landed, I was wheeled to my parents in a wheelchair.”
He shared his trauma with some of his teammates while he had returned from the tour.
