Eoin Morgan 'blackmail plot': England one-day captain 'victim of £35,000 extortion bid over brief fling with Australian woman'

 
Blackmail bid: Eoin Morgan and his current partner Tara Ridgway

England cricket captain Eoin Morgan has been the target of a bizarre blackmail plot just hours before the one day international against Australia, it was revealed today.

The England Cricket Board said it had been contacted by an individual demanding £35,000 before the first ball of the Tri-Series match tomorrow.

The man threatened to reveal embarrassing details of a brief relationship between the England captain and a Australian woman five years ago.

Details of the blackmail bid were revealed to the Standard today by the England Cricket Board amid fears it could disrupt the crucial one day match.

The ECB informed Scotland Yard of the blackmail bid and police tracked down the individual to Australia within 24 hours.

Paul Downton, the managing director of the England and Wales Cricket Board, said the board had received two emails within the last 48 hours from an individual in Australia trying to extort money making accusations against the England captain.

Mr Downton said: “There were references to a relationship that Eoin Morgan had five years ago with a single Australian lady.

“It was brief relationship five years ago and what appears to be a fairly deliberate attempt to extort a sum of money from the ECB.

In action: Eoin Morgan during the One Day International series match between Australia and England at Sydney Cricket Ground

“The individual, who comes from Hobart, demanded that the money be paid before the first ball was played on Friday.”

The suspect has been identified as an Australian resident of Hobart who is the new boyfriend of the woman Morgan dated five years ago.

The individual is understood to have found a phone with details of Morgan’s relationship with the unnamed woman.

He is believed to have threatened to reveal embarrassing details of the affair, including videos.

The man said to have been behind the alleged blackmail attempt was named in Australia as Nick Emery, who is described as a workplace safety consultant.

Mr Emery told the Herald Sun he was in possession of “sexually based’’ messages exchanged between his partner and Morgan last year.

He said : “I have got a fair bit of interesting content regarding Eoin Morgan with a woman who isn’t his girlfriend ... there’s sexual content. It’s my partner.’’

Mr Emery said he had an urgent meeting yesterday with English cricket board members in Hobart, which had settled the matter.

He admitted he had contacted media over messages between his partner and Morgan, but he would not release the messages to the media.

He said he had not intended to commit blackmail and was not chasing hush money.

“It’s done. It’s dealt with. I did the wrong thing in the wrong state of mind,” he said.

“I was in a very angry and bad head space.

“Everything is sorted now. They were very understanding. We came to an agreement.’’

Mr Emery said he had stumbled upon the messages when his partner backed up her phone on his computer.

“It was a stupid mistake on her behalf,’’ he said. “I knew something went on between them a long time ago.’’

England insiders insist Morgan had only been in “occasional” contact with the woman.

Mr Downton said: “We contacted the Metropolitan Police and a brief investigation tracked down this individual. He has now apologised saying it was not intended to go this far.

“My job is to ensure that the players have the optimum opportunity to prepare and play cricket for England both in the Tri-Series matches and the upcoming World Cup.

“We will not allow anyone to distract the players or the England captain.”

He added; “The ECB will not be pressing charges and the matter is now closed. The players will not be saying anything further at this moment. “

The ECB chairman said the England players will “rally round” and all their focus was on the one day matches and the World Cup.

Morgan, who is currently in a long term relationship with Tara Ridgway, a law and PR student at Bond University in Australia, was kept informed of the inquiry as it unfolded.

Ms Ridgway recently tweeted that she had met the cricketer three years ago saying: #luckiestgirlintheworld.

Mr Downton said he believed the blackmail bid was an “opportunistic” bid to extort cash.

Morgan’s former girlfriend is not thought to have been involved in the black mail bid by her current boyfriend.

She is said to have been shocked by the news and angrily confronted him over the incident.

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