There's quite a sad article in the latest edition of The Cricketer where ex-Bear Dermot Reeve laments his twenty years of drug taking.
He claims to have had only two "brief" relapses in the last six years; but one of these, as described by him, certainly wasn't minor: "My third wife was unwell...and I took a huge quantity of cocaine....I gambled away our entire savings in online casinos....My wife left me."
His third marriage in 2019 had seemed like a happy story - his wife Nicola was the granddaughter of old Warwickshire steward Billy Carson. Maybe there has been a reconciliation but he doesn't say.
He says several times that he hopes that his story will deter others - "I hope it convinces at least one person not to go down the road I went down."
Let's hope he can steer clear of that road himself from now on.

The Bears team of the early/mid 90s absolutely LOVED the packet.

Andy wrote:

The Bears team of the early/mid 90s absolutely LOVED the packet.

I think that's a bit of a sweeping generalisation - and Dermot in the article says:
"It wasn't until I worked in the media that I took drugs. I never did as a player."
And reading Paul Smith's autobiography, he talks about the (non-cricketing) circle of friends that got him into drugs and nowhere suggests that other players also indulged.

That is such a sad story about Dermatt. He gave a lot of supporters a massive amount of enjoyment and brought a lot of success for the club. What a pity the club could not have given him the support and guidance he clearly needed after he retired, That's not to say it was the club's fault just that thing may have been different if he had continued working within the club.

I agree that it is a sad story, not least because Dermot was such a hero to all Bears fans thirty years ago.

GerryShedd wrote:

I agree that it is a sad story, not least because Dermot was such a hero to all Bears fans thirty years ago.

Gerry, I wish you hadn't put that bit in about 30 years ago!! Where has the time gone????????????????/

Such great days and wonderful memories, the Sussex Nat West Cup Final in 1993 at Lords is still one of the best games I have ever seen, I have a signed framed print on my office wall at home.. As we left the ground I told my Bears mad 16 year old son he would never see a better one day final than that, 60 overs and sell out, with Asif Din an under rated and unlikely hero. Where do the years go?

And ........ what has happened to our great game in the ensuing 30 odd years?

SCE What indeed - It was a great format B&H Cup, 60 Over Comp, 40 Over Sunday league and a County Championship played throughout the season. The old saying - If it ain't broke why fix it - comes to mind.

Serious question, Dermot stopped been employed by the club in 1995, so does the club have any responsibility for the actions of a former employee ? Especially as in this case the problems have arisen many many years after the employment ended.

Highveld I did say it was not the club's fault. I was making the point that for whatever reason the club's most successful captain was not retained by the club when he retired and had he been so maybe things would have turned out differently.
If I remember correctly his drug problem first arose only a couple of years after retirement when he was sacked by channel 4. But I agree once he has left the club they have no responsibility for the actions he takes.

Answer to the question - no, responsibility is with Dermot; and to be fair, that is what he says in the article.
I recall interviewing Dermot in 2019 at Edgbaston at the launch of Patrick Murphy's book about the 1994 season. He told a fascinating story, the only problem being that he just didn't stop. Everyone was waiting to start the event and Dermot was still in full flow. I had long since stopped asking questions but he was still talking. Eventually he was told to stop and the event began!