After six months of hard work and traveling, October brings a time of rest for county cricketers. “It’s usually that one month a year where you can pretty much do nothing,” says Chris Wright, a 39-year-old seamer.
Chris Wright is known for his consistent bowling, game after game, season after season, which has led to a successful domestic career. Starting at Middlesex, he won a County Championship title with Warwickshire in 2012 and spent recent years at Leicestershire. Wright led the attack that won the One-Day Cup in 2023.
In early October last year, the county announced Chris Wright’s new two-year contract after he decided to stay instead of moving to Sussex due to family reasons. The following season was expected to bring him close to 600 first-class wickets and extend his professional career to age 40. Everything seemed fine until a surprise call in mid-October.
Advertisement
“I was just at home, relaxing, doing some chores, with music playing on my Bluetooth,” Wright recalls. “The music stopped because my phone rang. I picked it up and it was a guy from the ECB [England and Wales Cricket Board] saying: ‘I’ve sent you an email, you’ve failed a drugs test.’ He told me, ‘Don’t panic, just call the PCA [Professional Cricketers’ Association].’ But, of course, it’s impossible not to panic in that situation.”
The Unexpected Suspension of Chris Wright
Chris Wright was provisionally suspended, and it wasn’t until early July that his situation was publicly revealed. A trace amount of the banned substance ostarine was found in his system. The National Anti-Doping Panel (NADP) in its May decision accepted that Wright had taken it unintentionally through a contaminated supplement, but he was still given a nine-month suspension, backdated to last October.
The One-Day Cup, starting this week, marks Chris Wright’s return to competitive cricket. He has missed the game deeply. “Many cricketers like to complain about the sport,” Wright says. “I love it.”
The suspension tested his love for the game. It made him give up a winter coaching job with Central Sparks, the regional women’s team, while he tried to prove his innocence.
In February, Chris Wright sent several supplements for testing, and a bilberry supplement was found to be the culprit. The NADP confirmed that the supplement’s label did not list ostarine or any banned substance. “I’m not a drug cheat. It’s proven,” Wright says.
The process continued until May, with a hearing in front of the Cricket Regulator, who argued Chris Wright was at fault for taking ostarine, even unintentionally. “The regulator tried to argue I should be banned for 20 to 24 months,” Wright says.
Advertisement
The NADP noted that Wright did not research the supplement on the Informed Sport website, where athletes can check if products have been batch-tested, nor did he consult his team doctor.
A longer suspension would have ended Wright’s career. “At my age, a 12-month break would be too much to come back from physically. If the regulator had succeeded in a 20 to 24-month ban, I’d have retired,” he says.
NADP’s Decision and Chris Wright’s Response
The NADP found Chris Wright’s fault “not significant” but still handed out a nine-month suspension. Wright calls it “harsh.” “I haven’t harmed anyone or tried to cheat. The amount of ostarine in my system was like a grain of sand in an Olympic swimming pool.”
The PCA, along with the World Cricketers’ Association (WCA) and World Players Association (WPA), is using Wright’s case to urge the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to change its rules and protect athletes who accidentally take contaminated substances.
“The science has outpaced the regulations,” says Matthew Graham, head of the WPA. “We can now detect trace elements as small as a picogram, which is a trillionth of a gram. At such low levels, it’s unlikely any athlete sought performance enhancement.”
Chris Wright’s case is not unique. Graham cites Lizzy Banks, a former cyclist who felt suicidal after testing positive due to contamination. Banks was found to have “no fault or negligence” by UK Anti-Doping, but WADA has appealed the decision.
The WPA is pushing for thresholds for contaminants like ostarine and wants the burden of proof shifted to the anti-doping authority. They also suggest follow-up testing to confirm results.
Chris Wright has had a tough few months but appreciates the support from his county and the PCA, which helped fund his legal defense and supplement testing. He is eager to return. “I love bowling and my teammates. I want to play as long as I can,” he says.
Also Read: Rahul Dravid To Attend India House, Discuss Cricket At The Olympics
Advertisement