Tragic Maynard was drunk and high on drugs
SURREY cricketer Tom Maynard was drunk and high on cocaine and ecstasy when he was electrocuted by rail tracks and hit by a London Underground train in June, an inquest heard yesterday.
The 23-year-old, who had played for England Lions and was tipped to become a senior international, died at Wimbledon Park station after fleeing police who had stopped him for driving erratically.
Maynard was found at around 5am on 18 June, having gone out drinking in Wandsworth with two team-mates, England bowler Jade Dernbach and Surrey captain Rory Hamilton-Brown, following a Twenty20 defeat the previous day.
Hair sample tests showed levels of cocaine consistent with that of a daily user, the inquest heard.
A post-mortem found that Maynard had been nearly four times the legal limit to drive and had also taken cocaine and ecstasy, in the form of MDMA, on the night.
Dernbach and Hamilton-Brown said they did not know about their colleague and flatmate’s drug use.
Maynard suffered burns to his feet and ankles from the live tracks, but a pathologist said it was not clear whether those injuries, or the train’s impact, had killed the former Glamorgan batsman. A jury recorded a verdict of accidental death.
English cricket’s governing body the England and Wales Cricket Board said it had recently pledged to increase out-of-competition testing for recreational drugs. Coroner Dr Fiona Wilcox urged clubs to carry out their own hair sample tests.
The ECB currently carries out up to 200 tests each year, meaning around 35-40 per cent of County level players are assessed. Somerset’s Abdur Rehman returned the only positive test last year.
England players are subjected to further tests by international chiefs. None has yet tested positive.