Two brothers have pleaded not guilty to kidnapping retired Australian cricketer Stuart MacGill in a dispute over what police have alleged was a botched cocaine deal.
Richard and Frederick Schaaf are among six men accused of snatching the former spin bowler, 51, from a street near his home at Cremorne on Sydney's lower north shore in April last year.
Mr MacGill has told police he was then driven to a farm in Bringelly, where he was stripped naked, assaulted and threatened with a gun.
He has alleged that his kidnappers tried to extort money from him before driving him to Belmore, in south-west Sydney, where he was released.
Detectives have previously said that Mr MacGill was targeted because he was a friend of the person who had allegedly stolen two kilograms of cocaine, with a street value of more than $600,000.
Mr MacGill insists he has no knowledge of the alleged drug deal.
The Schaaf brothers were dressed in prison greens when they appeared before Central Local Court via video link from separate cells in Bathurst Jail in Central Western NSW.
Defence lawyer Hugh Salter entered pleas of not guilty on behalf of his clients to one charge each of take/detain in company with intent to get advantage occasioning actual bodily harm.
Magistrate Robert Williams committed the pair to stand trial in the NSW District Court on March 25.
At the time of the alleged kidnapping, Mr MacGill was running a Greek restaurant in Sydney's Neutral Bay with his then girlfriend Maria O'Meagher.
Ms O'Meagher's younger brother Marino Sotiropoulos is among the six men charged with detaining Mr MacGill but has previously denied involvement.
Two other men, Elijah Schaaf and Son Minh Nguyen, were not required to enter pleas before Central Local Court today and had their cases adjourned until later this month.
A sixth man, Vaeluagaomatagi Feilo, is set to appear before a jury in Sydney's Downing Centre tomorrow.
Yesterday, Mr MacGill pleaded not guilty to stalking and intimidating Sydney bar owner, Samantha Ford, earlier this month.
The court heard he was self-isolating after testing positive for COVID-19.
He is due back in court in September.
