Three quarters of professional cricketers in England and Wales "were not tested for drugs in the past year," according to Elizabeth Ammon of the LONDON TIMES. Only 130 tests were carried out on male cricketers in the 12 months to March, "while no tests were carried out on female cricketers in that period." Of these 130, "only 28 took place outside of the cricket season." The reason for the lack of tests is because UK Anti-Doping "does not deem cricket to be of sufficiently high risk" to demand it to use its public funding, as it does for sports such as rugby union and football. One anti-doping expert said that UKAD’s stance is "a complete nonsense" as players could "clearly benefit" from substances that enhance their strength, stamina or recovery from injury. Two county cricketers, who did not wish to be named, "had not been tested for two years." In comparison, two thirds of Premier League footballers were tested during the '15-16 season. In rugby union, only a third of top-flight players were tested, with "more of a focus on the amateur and semi-professional game." No testing is conducted in amateur or semi-professional cricket (LONDON TIMES, 4/13).
