Ex-Australian test cricketer Michael Slater has been sentenced to jail for domestic violence charges but will be released from custody straight away on a suspended sentence. His release was threatened with being delayed as his lawyers rushed to complete a second charge of drink and drug driving.

Slater, 55, was convicted in Maroochydore district court on tuesday after entering pleas of guilty to seven offences including two of choking a woman. The charges that also involved stalking, assault and burglary concerned offences carried out on Queensland's Sunshine Coast during December 2023.

He also sent an abusive woman text messages, police discovering some while carrying out a welfare check on Slater in march 2024. Slater has been in prison for over 12 months and has attempted several times without success to be granted bail.

Slater sentenced to four years in domestic violence case, released under suspended term

Judge Glen Cash on tuesday sentenced Slater to four years' imprisonment to be partially suspended after serving time. The balance of Slater's sentence is suspended for five years, during which he will risk being sent back to jail if he commits another serious offence.Slater was cleared for release after he also pleaded guilty to a drink and drug driving offence in Maroochydore Magistrates Court following his domestic violence sentencing. Supreme Court Justice Paul Freeburn last august learned Slater had a history of mental illness and a series of diagnoses including alcohol use disorder.

Defence barrister Gregory McGuire at the time made submissions in favour of bail conditions that saw Slater relocate to NSW and enter into rehabilitation."He was obviously under the grip of a vicious alcohol habit," Mr McGuire previously stated. NSW magistrate in 2022 found Slater guilty of common assault, violating a restraining order and two other charges against a woman. Slater was intoxicated and agitated when he pulled the woman's hoodie and she hit her head on a kitchen benchtop. In the subsequent months, he attempted to email, phone and text her over 100 times in defiance of a court order.

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Following his debut on the 1993 Ashes tour, Slater represented Australia in 74 Tests, scoring 5312 runs at 42.83 with 14 centuries. He also appeared in 42 ODIs. Slater retired in 2004, taking up a television commentary career.