New details emerge regarding Peter Roebuck's death

New details emerge of cricket commentator Peter Roebuck’s death
Sherryn Groch
BySherryn Groch
February 11, 2024 — 6.45pm

Former cricket columnist Peter Roebuck was “in despair” and being arrested on suspicion of sexual assault before he died from a fall in South Africa, an inquest has found.

The new details of Roebuck’s 2011 death have emerged, 13 years on, at the conclusion of a UK inquest on Friday (UK time).

Renowned cricketer and commentator Peter Roebuck’s death has been ruled a suicide.
Renowned cricketer and commentator Peter Roebuck’s death has been ruled a suicide.CREDIT:

Roebuck, a former Somerset captain and columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, had been in Cape Town to commentate on a match between Australia and South Africa in November 2011 when he died in what has now been ruled a suicide.

According to the BBC, the inquest heard that Roebuck, 55, had allegedly sexually assaulted a 26-year-old man in his room days earlier on November 7, when they met to discuss whether Roebuck could financially support the student through university.

A complaint was made to the police on November 12, and officers went to Roebuck’s hotel to arrest him that evening.

Detective Aubrey McDonald, the arresting officer, said in a statement that “Peter Roebuck had mentioned he was well known in the cricket fraternity and that his arrest will be front-page news worldwide”.

McDonald said Roebuck had stepped outside the hotel room to make a phone call and then heard his colleague, Lieutenant Cecil Jacobs, shouting at Roebuck.

An incident then took place which resulted in Roebuck’s death, the inquest heard.

“At the time of the incident, the deceased appeared very calm and in control of himself,” McDonald said.

Commentator Jim Maxwell, a friend of Roebuck’s working at the ABC, told the inquest he had received a call late that evening asking him to go to Roebuck’s room. There he was greeted by a police officer and saw his friend sitting on the bed.

“He was totally in despair,” Maxwell said.

He said Roebuck had told him he needed a lawyer and asked him to contact people at his home, before police asked Maxwell to leave.

The same cause of death – multiple injuries – was also recorded at an inquest held in South Africa, which was not attended by family members.

Matthew Lyall, the forensic pathologist who carried out the post-mortem examination in the UK, wrote in his report: “There were no findings to specifically suggest that a third party was directly involved in any of the injuries, but the involvement of a third party cannot be ruled out solely on the basis of the pathological findings.”

A decade before his death, Roebuck received a suspended prison sentence for common assault in the UK after caning three South African teenage cricketers staying with him in 1999.

Roebuck’s sister, Margaret Frostick, told the Cheshire court he had pleaded guilty “just so he could go and carry on with his job. He was horrified that such false allegations could be laid against him”.

Some young African cricketers have painted a darker picture of the renowned cricket writer and philanthropist, speaking of repeated beatings during stays in his house, while also praising his generosity.

Frostick was joined at Friday’s inquest by two other relatives of Roebuck.

The coroner Jacqueline Devonish told them: “I’m sorry the case has taken such a long time for us to progress, but it was in part waiting to find out about a renewed hearing in South Africa which hasn’t come to pass.”

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Nothing really new here.

Clearly a classic teen-pedo who got caught out. I feel sorry for Jimmy Maxwell, who got caught up in this human disaster.

Most Aussies lost all respect for Roebuck (who'd we pretty much adopted as a cricket doyen via ABC radio) in the wake of the Jan 2008 Test Aus v India at the SGC, when he sided with the whinging, whining, sooking, losing Bannies (he had to shut down his email account due to overwhelming opposition to the content of his public comments). But I will always respect his cricket writing abilities.

It's a grand tragedy that his private life destroyed his cricket legacy.

Wow… it seems like just yesterday.

Roebuck was a terrific writer and analyst. Clearly he had a miserable and fraught existence and was a risk to others.

I am puzzled why the Poms held an inquest.

I can't see anything new there. He was a clever cricket commentator, but ultimately a sick and sad man. His story is a tragedy defined by perversion and shame.

Have either Botham or Richards ever opened up about their observations and opinions of him from their time with him at Somerset?

horace wrote:

I am puzzled why the Poms held an inquest.

What's considered to be normal when a foreign citizen dies in 'strange' circumstances? Did Australia 'investigate' Warnie's death? Or John McCarthy? Or any in particular, or all, of the hundreds of Neville Nobody's that come to grief overseas every year, but only nearest and dearest see the results?

Big rich country getting officious with small broke country, are you hinting Horrie? With the boots on opposite feet, an interesting 'compare and contrast' may be the United States Of America and a small Caribbean island, dealing with Great Britain re Eddie Cochrane and Collie Smith respectively

Presumably his sister campaigned for the inquest. Nah did not think it was a rich v poor country thing.

Thought he was living in Sydney and would not have been surprised if he had taken Oz citizenship.

Wonder if he had sex with white blokes or just black blokes with s&m chucked in. Just strange.

horace wrote:Presumably his sister campaigned for the inquest. Nah did not think it was a rich v poor country thing.

Thought he was living in Sydney and would not have been surprised if he had taken Oz citizenship.

Wonder if he had sex with white blokes or just black blokes with s&m chucked in. Just strange.

He lived in SA during the winter and oz during the southern hemisphere summer.