Stuart MacGill: Ex-Australian cricketer kidnapped and released in Sydney

image copyrightGetty Images image captionStuart MacGill (seen here in 2017) was released about an hour into the ordeal

Former Australian cricketer Stuart MacGill was abducted and released in a kidnapping in Sydney last month, the BBC has learned.

Four people have been arrested in connection with the incident which took place on 14 April.

Police said the arrests, which took place after raids were conducted across Sydney on Wednesday, were the result of a two-week long investigation.

MacGill, 50, was a test spinner for the national team between 1998 and 2008.

A group of men confronted MacGill in the suburb of Cremorne at night before forcing him into a car, police said.

He was then driven to Bringelly, on the city’s outskirts, where he was allegedly assaulted at gunpoint.

MacGill was released about an hour into his ordeal. He was taken to the south-west suburb of Belmore and let go, police said.

Police said the arrested group members – aged 27, 29, 42 and 46 – would be charged later on Wednesday.

Australian media said the player had lived around the affluent lower-north shore area of Sydney, where he was abducted from.

Authorities have not yet provided provide details on his current condition. MacGill is yet to provide public comment on the incident.