Still got his sense of humour.
Posted: Fri Jul 13, 2012 5:17 am
Twelve years ago he was captain of the England one-day cricket team.
But this week, after a spectacular fall from grace, Adam Hollioake was in court over £14million debts from a disastrous property venture. Now bankrupt, the 40-year-old has even taken up cage fighting in an attempt to scrape some money together.Bemoaning his downfall, he said of his wife, Sherryn: ‘When we married I was captain of England, good looking, plenty of money, not a care in the world. Now she is married to a fat old guy, not good looking any more, and no money.’
Hollioake gave up cricket and returned to Australia, where he was born, to go into business in 2004. But last year he was declared bankrupt, and this week he appeared in court to confirm how much money is owed to each of his 40 creditors. In an interview with the Daily Mail after his court appearance, he said: ‘Those who grumble about losing some of their money have lost nothing against what I lost, which is everything. ‘But you know, there is one thing that no one can take away from me. And that is the love of my wife Sherryn and my three beautiful kids. That along with my health. Health and a wife’s love are far more precious than money.’ He added: ‘Cage fighting doesn’t pay all that well. It hurts, physically, at times, but I haven’t got my head knocked off yet.
‘But boy, do they love to boo me when I go into the ring. I’m a traitor to the Aussies, after all, having been born here and then ending up in the UK playing cricket for England. I’m less popular than the taxman.’
Hollioake captained Surrey between 1997 and 2003, winning three County Championships, and led the England team in one-day internationals. He also represented his country in Test matches.
His brother Ben, also a cricketer, died in a car accident in 2002. Hollioake then retired after his father, John, suggested he could receive a salary of around £100,000 a year if he joined him in a property development company.
Hollioake had doubled his money on a house sale in 1994 and believed he could do it again. ‘I was a genius – or so I thought,’ he said. The venture soon turned sour. From living a life of luxury, with more than one home on each side of the Australian continent, he and his family now own no property and are renting.
Hollioake said: ‘The lawyers representing the creditors in court yesterday wanted to know where every cent had gone and it was not a pleasant experience. They wanted to know everything about my life, almost down to how many times I went to the toilet.
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