ICC Chief Executive Malcolm Speed Encourages Members to Conduct Regular Drug Tests
“The current situation is unfortunate but what we must do is use it as a springboard to move forward,” he said.
“Pakistan is one of five of our Full Members that are already testing their players outside of ICC Events and I would urge those not already doing so to follow suit for the good of the game.
“That way, if cricket does have a drug-related problem – and I do not believe it has – we can identify it, deal with it and make sure the game gets stronger as a result.
“The matter at hand now is an internal one for the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and, having spoken to its Chairman, Dr Nazeem Ashraf, I am confident it will be handled with the appropriate thoroughness,” added Mr Speed.
Those five Full Members already testing are Australia, England, New Zealand, Pakistan and South Africa while the West Indies is also set to start its own testing procedures in the near future.
“Traditionally cricket has been regarded as a low risk sport when it comes to the subject of drug use but that does not mean we can be or are complacent in any way,” said Mr Speed.
“Cricketers are role models, they need to be sending out the right messages to the public and that is one of the reasons why we must have a zero tolerance on drug use in any context.
“Our approach has been consistent and long-standing in this matter as we have tested players at all our events involving Full Members since the 2002 ICC U/19 Cricket World Cup in New Zealand.
“We have an ICC Anti-Doping Code, in July we signed up to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Code and prior to the ICC Champions Trophy all our participating Members confirmed they are undertaking education programs with their players.
“The responsibility for the education of players on the details of the ICC Anti-Doping Code rests with our Members but the ICC will assist in those programs wherever it is required to do so.
“To this end we have produced an anti-doping DVD which has been distributed to all the participating teams at the ICC Champions Trophy and it is part of our ongoing commitment on this subject.”
During the current ICC Champions Trophy in India six matches will feature drug testing with four players – two from each side – chosen at random to provide samples after play.
Those samples will then be sent to a WADA-accredited laboratory in Malaysia, the same laboratory that processed samples from the ICC U/19 Cricket World Cup in Sri Lanka in February.
No tests have taken place at matches played so far in the tournament.
The ICC Anti-Doping Code can be downloaded at:
http://www.icc-cricket.com/icc/rules/