None of the 24 random dope tests conducted at the recent Champions Trophy was positive, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Tuesday. The biennial event began with a drugs scandal when the Pakistan pace pair of Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif were recalled after testing positive for the banned steroid nandrolone during an out-of-competition test.
The Champions Trophy, won by Australia, was the first tournament involving full member countries since the ICC signed the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) code in July.
"Six of the tournament's 21 matches were randomly selected for testing, including one semi-final and the final," an ICC statement said. "Two players from each team were randomly selected and tested, giving a total of 24 tests that were submitted for analysis to a WADA-accredited laboratory in Malaysia." ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed urged all the full members to conduct out-of-competition tests.
"Five of our full members - Australia, England, New Zealand, Pakistan and South Africa - are already testing outside of ICC events and the West Indies is set to join that list in the near future," he said. "We would encourage all our remaining full members not already doing so to follow suit for the good of the game."