Craig McDermott, an Australian Ashes hero known for his fiery, high-speed bowling that left English batsmen quaking, was once declared bankrupt due to a debt of tens of millions from a failed property business. McDermott was the spearhead of the Australian attack in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He achieved eight five-wicket hauls in Ashes Tests, including record figures of 8/97, and took an impressive 32 wickets in his final full series before injuries began to impact his career.

However, post-cricket life proved more challenging for McDermott as he ventured into the business world. The Queenslander was compelled to file for bankruptcy after a speculative business venture went disastrously wrong, leaving him with a £20m deficit. Known as Billy the Kid during his playing days, McDermott's property company, Maxen Developments Pty Ltd, collapsed in 2008, owing over £9million to investors, according to liquidator Susan Carter. Over 100 fellow Queenslanders were affected by the financial meltdown, including one individual who lost more than £300,000.

Additionally, McDermott's business owed over £11m, plus interest, from loans with the now-defunct finance company Bridgecorp.

Three years on, McDermott returned to the cricketing world in an attempt to rebuild his life, rejoining the Australian Test team as their new bowling coach. However, his tenure was brief, lasting only a year before he resigned due to concerns over workload.

The 60-year-old is widely recognised for rejuvenating Peter Siddle's career and introducing Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc to the Test side.

In 2013, he resumed a similar role, just in time to witness Mitchell Johnson decimate England's batting line-up in a 5-0 whitewash Down Under. He later held coaching positions with Bangladesh and Brisbane Heat, his local Big Bash T20 League team.

However, things took a turn for the worse when McDermott ventured back into property investment. He was implicated in Supreme Court proceedings in Queensland through a new company, Aushome Developments Pty Ltd, which had taken out two loans amounting to approximately £5m to fund a development project in Logan, south of Brisbane.

The company allagedly defaulted on both loans in 2022, prompting the lender to seize control of the project and recover additional costs. McDermott, a six-foot-three right-arm bowler, claimed 494 wickets in Tests and ODIs and was part of the Australian squad that triumphed in the 1987 Cricket World Cup. He famously took 30 wickets in his first Ashes in 1985.