Dubai: West Indies woman cricketer Tremayne Smartt was on Saturday suspended for five months by the ICC for failing a dope test after a Twenty20 match against Pakistan in September.
"West Indies women`s international cricketer Tremayne Smartt has today been found guilty of committing an anti-doping rule violation under Article 2.1 of the ICC Anti-Doping Code (the ICC Code) and has been suspended from all cricket and cricket-related activities for a period of five months," the ICC said in a statement.
The 26-year-old batter, who has played 15 ODIs and 12 Twenty20s for West Indies, provided a urine sample as part of the ICC`s random in-competition testing programme on September 11.
Her sample was subsequently tested by a World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) accredited laboratory and was found to contain Furosemide.
This is classified as a `Specified Substance` under WADA`s Prohibited List and is prohibited both In-Competition and Out-of-Competition.
"An independent anti-doping tribunal, comprising Mr Tim Kerr, QC, (acting as chairman), Dr Anik Sax and Prof. Peter Sever heard the case today in London and made its determination after considering detailed written and oral legal submissions as well as live witness evidence, including from Smartt herself," the ICC said.
The tribunal accepted that Smartt had ingested the substance for therapeutic reasons, specifically to treat swelling in her knee.
"It also found that Smartt had no intention to enhance her sporting performance or to mask the use of another performance enhancing substance, but that she had failed to satisfy the high levels of personal responsibility implicit upon her as an international cricketer subject to anti-doping rules," the ICC stated.
Smartt pleaded guilty to the offence at an early stage in the proceedings and.
"In accordance with the discretion afforded to the tribunal under the ICC Code they have decided that the ineligibility period should commence on 26 October 2011 and expire at midnight on 25 March 2012, therefore leaving her eligible to return to cricket and cricket related activities on 26 March 2012," the ICC said.
Smartt said she never intended to cheat.
"It was never my intention to breach the anti-doping regulations and I did attempt to check the Prohibited List myself. However, I acknowledge that I did not do this effectively and have to accept the consequences.”
"My experience should act as a warning to all cricketers that they should never take any medical products without first consulting a qualified sports medicine practitioner," she said.
Smartt is entitled to appeal within 21 days of the receipt of the written decision.
PTI
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.