Australia-based IPL Player Charged With Assault

Perth: West Australian cricketer Luke Pomersbach, who plays with Indian Premier League team Kings XI Punjab, has been charged with assaulting police while allegedly trying to escape custody after a traffic accident.

Police said on Monday that Pomersbach was driving while intoxicated when his car crashed into the back of another car in the western Perth suburb of City Beach on Sunday.

They said Pomersbach, who will appear in court Friday, left the scene in his car and later hit a large garbage container, driving it into the porch of a nearby house.

"He was spoken to by police and as he was being placed in the rear of a police sedan, he informed police that he did not want to accompany them and tried to leave," police spokesman Greg Lambert said.

"A struggle developed when police tried to restrain the man, during which a police officer was pushed backward into a window of the house, causing it to break. The man eventually managed to break free and ran away from the scene."

Police said Pomersbach was charged with failing to stop after an accident, failing to accompany police when asked, driving with a blood-alcohol level in excess of .08, assaulting a public officer, obstructing police and escaping legal custody.

Pomersbach, 24, plays for the Western Warriors. An attacking left-handed batsman, he represented Australia when called in as a late replacement in a Twenty20 international against New Zealand in Perth in December 2007.

In 2007, Pomersbach and Western Australia teammate Shaun Marsh were suspended for engaging in a heavy drinking session just days before the team flew to Adelaide for a match against South Australia. Pomersbach was also suspended in 2009 after he failed to show up for a club game.

Pomersbach has scored 1,570 runs at an average of 43.61 in 22 first-class matches.