Perth Scorchers Player Laurie Evans Returns Positive Dope Test; Cricketer 'shocked'

Big Bash League (BBL) side Perth Scorchers have terminated the contract of 35-year-old right-arm English batter Laurie Evans following a positive result on an anti-doping test.

However, Evans, who has played 225 T20s scoring over 5,000 runs in the format, has denied any wrongdoing.

"I was shocked to be told that an anti-doping sample I provided in August 2022 tested positive for trace amounts of a banned substance," Evans said through the Professional Cricketers' Association (PCA), reports sen.com.au.

"I believe passionately in clean sport and I have never taken any banned substances. I do not know what caused the positive test but my team and I are investigating how this could have happened and I am doing everything possible to find out."

The Perth Scorchers said in a statement on Tuesday that they have been "made aware that Laurie Evans tested positive for a banned substance".

"The club is disappointed to learn of Evans' positive anti-doping test result relating to a sample provided in August 2022. Evans was retained by the Scorchers in the Gold round of the inaugural KFC BBL-12 Draft. Due to the circumstances, the Scorchers and Laurie and his management have decided to mutually terminate his contract for the 2022-23 KFC Big Bash League season," read the statement.

However, the BBL side have been left with the difficult task of finding a replacement for the English cricketer with less than a month to go from the BBL start.

"The Club will explore its options to source a replacement player for the tournament, which begins on Saturday, 17 December against the Sydney Sixers at Optus Stadium," said the Scorchers statement.

The report said that Evans had returned the sample during a routine anti-doping test while playing in The Hundred competition in August earlier this year. "The 35-year-old was the Player of the Match in last year's BBL final for Perth, with the franchise using its retention pick in the international draft to keep the Englishman earlier this year," the report said.

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