Lawyers set to meet over former champion batsman Dean Reynolds’ sexual assault lawsuit against Cricket Australia

A former Australian under-19 captain, who retired at 21, has claimed his life was ruined by an alleged sexual assault on tour.

Dean Reynolds (right) is taking Cricket Australia to court in a $4m lawsuit.

A $4 million lawsuit against Cricket Australia over the alleged sexual abuse of a gifted teenage batting star is set for mediation.

Legal representatives for former Australian under-19 captain and batsman Dean Reynolds are scheduled to meet Cricket Australia lawyers before a mediator on November 14 following Reynolds’ claims he was sexually molested by a coach on a tour of India in 1985.

Reynolds, 57, is suing CA for more than $4 million in the Queensland Supreme Court, claiming coach Bob Bitmead sexually assaulted him on the Under-19 Australian tour of India and Sri Lanka.

Cricket Australia is yet to file a defence.

A spokesman for the game’s governing body said on Tuesday it would not comment due to ongoing court proceedings.

Bitmead has previously denied allegations of sexual assault. No charges have ever been laid.

Documents lodged in the claim allege the assault occurred after Reynolds, then 17, had been given an injection for gastroenteritis in a Mumbai hotel room by team doctor Malcolm McKenzie.

The court documents claim Reynolds, who is being represented by solicitor Travis Schultz, was in a “groggy and semiconscious state’’ when he was allegedly assaulted by Bitmead.

Reynolds, who at the time of the alleged assault was regarded as one of the most promising young batsmen in the country, says the assault not only destroyed his lofty cricket dreams but also his working career.

Reynolds, who scored a century in an Under-19 Test against India in Delhi opening the batting, returned home to be a member of the Queensland Sheffield Shield training squad for the next four years but never played a first class game.

Former Victorian spinner Bob Bitmead has previously denied allegations of sexual assault.

He left the sport at age 21, claiming the alleged abuse had taken its toll. One of his final matches was against an Australian Cricket Academy team featuring Test bowler Brendon Julian when Reynolds made 90 opening the batting.

In his claim statement, Reynolds, the son of former outstanding Queensland batsman Ray Reynolds, said: “That tour would ultimately change the course of my life. The events that occurred not only shattered my hopes for an international cricket career, but also had devastating consequences for me as a person – consequences I still struggle to manage and live with today.’’

Reynolds was a Qantas international cabin crew member for more than two decades but was stood down from his work several times due to excessive consumption of alcohol.

He was referred to drug and alcohol and mental health rehabilitation services.

Originally published as Lawyers set to meet over former champion batsman Dean Reynolds’ sexual assault lawsuit against Cricket Australia