BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC):The West Indies Cricket Board (WIBC) said yesterday it was taking the International Cricket Council's (ICC) stance on anti-doping seriously and had already cautioned its players to stay clear of performance-enhancing drugs.
Tony Deyal, WICB's corporate services manager, told CMC Sports that the recent camp held in Jamaica for the West Indies 15-man squad had also been used to brief the team on the issue of anti-doping and the requirements of the ICC's regulations.
"A couple of the things that we have been very careful to deal with as well is the whole area of the ICC anti-doping policy," Deyal said from the WICB's office in Antigua.
"The ICC is very strict in that regard. We all have the lessons of Pakistan ahead of us ? and we are very conscious of that and we will be doing whatever testing is necessary on our own in conjunction with WIPA - of course the ICC has its own testing - once the players start the games [in the World Cup]."
Last November, Pakistani pace bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammed Asif were both banned from competitive cricket after testing positive for drugs.
The bans were subsequently overturned but both players were still withdrawn from Pakistan's World Cup squad Thursday. The Pakistan Cricket Board said the duo had failed to recover from injury in time.
Tough stance
In a tough stance taken this week, the ICC announced it would conduct target-testing during the upcoming World Cup in the Caribbean. This is in addition to their intention to test two players from each team during 17 of the tournament's 51 matches.
"We are doing whatever we can to ensure adherence to the anti-doping policy. We also have zero-tolerance for doping and drug use and we'll make sure that we adhere strictly to that principle," Deyal stressed.
Strict regulations
"It's not just the WICB going about it. There are very strict regulations at the ICC level for all drugs that are either performance enhancing or that may have an effect on the players and that list is well known.
"We have cautioned the players but more than that, the players have been told 'don't ingest anything, don't take in anything the effect of which you don't know. Check the list, talk to the coach, talk to the doctors, we have people available.' "
He added: "As far as the ICC is concerned, ignorance of the regulations, ignorance of the substance is no excuse at all. In fact, one of the things players don't know, if you refuse to have a drugs test, it may be construed as in fact being guilty. So, it's serious stuff. We have been doing this with the players before but we are very conscious of the eyes of the world on us and the lessons of Pakistan, so we are taking every necessary precaution"
Official warm-up matches in the Cricket World Cup start Monday with the opening ceremony scheduled for March 11.
The tournament bowls off March 13 with West Indies and Pakistan clashing at Sabina Park.
