Bat sizes are about to change if the Marylebone Cricket Club world cricket committee has its way -- with limits being recommended on depth and edges -- "to swing the balance back some way towards the bowlers." If the full MCC committee "accepts the recommendation, the changes will be in place by October next year," before the '17-18 Ashes series. A majority of the cricket committee, chaired by former England captain Mike Brearley, "agreed that chunky modern bats have made it too easy for batsmen to clear the boundary even with mistimed shots, and have led to safety concerns for fielders, umpires and bowlers." The group "also heard of an impact on the recreational game." An MCC statement said, "Balls are flying into nearby residential properties with increasing frequency, thus threatening the existence of some smaller cricket clubs" (LONDON TIMES, 7/13).
FURTHER INVESTIGATIONS: A Kenyan government minister said that the country "is investigating newspaper allegations that doctors from the country supplied prohibited performance enhancing drugs to British athletes." Undercover footage taken by the Sunday Times "showed two Kenyan doctors and an associate claiming that they had given British athletes EPO, a banned blood-boosting drug." Kenyan Sports Minister Hassan Wario said that the government has asked Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya to contact its British counterparts, UK Anti-Doping, "to provide them with information and help in any further investigations." Wario said, "We have started investigations" (REUTERS, 7/13).
