Darren Lehmann will have to re-live the trauma of the death of former Test cricketer David Hookes just days before playing for Australia in the first Test against New Zealand in Brisbane. The 34-year-old left-handed batsman, recalled to the Australian team this week at the expense of Simon Katich, is scheduled to appear in a Melbourne court on Monday to give an eye-witness account of the late-night altercation that led to the death of Hookes, one of his close friends.
The rest of the Australian squad will be in Brisbane preparing for next Thursday's first of two Tests against the Kiwis and the earliest Lehmann can rejoin them is on Tuesday.
Bouncer Zdravko Micevic, 22, is facing a charge of manslaughter over an alleged fatal attack on Hookes outside a Melbourne hotel on January 18 this year. The committal hearing is set down for 10 days.
Lehmann, respected as having one of the best cricketing brains in the country, said he is not looking forward to the court experience and that it will make for a difficult preparation for the Kiwi Test.