Suspected homemade bomb found near Brad Haddin's home
Police are currently investigating what appears to be an improvised explosive device (IED) that was found on the grounds of Australian wicketkeeper Haddin’s home in Sydney, New South Wales. Haddin, his wife Karina and their family are currently in the UK as the Ashes are underway.
The device was described as being made of two enclosed butane canisters, with a wick attached to them to potentially light it. According to police, an attempt had already been made to do so, but this had been unsuccessful.
This news will come as a blow to Haddin, who is also dealing with significant personal issues. The keeper has withdrawn from the second Ashes test for personal reasons. His young daughter Mia, who had previously been treated for a neuroblastoma, which is a type of childhood cancer, in 2012. She had then been successfully treated and gone into remission, which is when Haddin made his test cricket comeback.
It has been confirmed by Australian commentators that Haddin’s withdrawal from the test was related to Mia being hospitalised again. It is not known, however, if this is related to her 2012 illness or not.
Cricket Australia, who first reported the story on their website, released a statement on their official Twitter page as well:
JUST IN: Police investigating explosive device found near Brad Haddin's Sydney property: http://t.co/z9iyFj3BRg pic.twitter.com/6kNyb7ZsUM
— cricket.com.au (@CricketAus) July 18, 2015
For now, the cricketer remains with his teammates in the UK as the Ashes proceed. Further statement is awaited.