Leics bowler Wright gets backdated drugs ban

Leicestershire seam bowler Chris Wright been given a backdated nine-month ban after failing a drug test.

The 38-year-old tested positive for ostarine - a drug which has similar effects to testosterone - in September last year.

Wright admitted two charges of breaching England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) anti-doping rules.

The suspension has been backdated to October 2023 and Wright, who will be free to play again for his county on 19 July, said: "I am back in training and looking forward to my full return."

Wright, who has also played for Middlesex and Warwickshire, has taken 780 wickets in all formats of the game - 588 of them in red-ball cricket.

He took 3-65 in his most recent game for Leicestershire against Durham in September last year and a proposed move to Sussex fell through the following month, which led to him signing a new two-year deal at Grace Road.

A full report on the case said Wright had submitted a letter in which he stated he had not "intentionally 'doped' or been reckless or negligent".

He admitted the charges on the basis that he had taken the banned substance "inadvertently and unknowingly" which was contained in a bilberry food supplement, bought online.

Following the announcement of the ban, he said: "I was shocked to find out that I had tested positive for trace amounts of a banned substance on a single occasion back in October 2023.

"I had been using a fruit supplement at the time, purchased from a well-known manufacturer, which had no sports performance-enhancing capability.

"I was extremely fortunate that with the help of scientific experts, I was able to identify that the supplement was contaminated with ostarine, a synthetic substance that ought not be in any food product in the UK, and the Cricket Regulator accepted this."

He continued: "The panel found that I bore no significant fault and I am pleased this matter has been resolved so that I can resume playing soon, after what has been an extremely difficult and trying time for me and my family."