ICC to adopt new anti-doping code from 1st Jan 2009

International cricketers must be available for testing at any time and any day of the year once the new and more stringent ICC anti-doping code comes into effect from the New Year.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday has said in a statement that players would have to make themselves available for testing whether it is at ICC events, bilateral series or even out of competition.

The code, which comes into effect on 1st January 2009, was recently given unanimous approval by all members of the ICC Board.

"The ICC has a zero-tolerance approach to doping in cricket and this new code serves to reinforce that position," ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat said.

"This code means it has just become even harder for drug cheats to get away with doping practices and it is part of our continued battle to ensure fair competition for all," he said.

The adoption of this strengthened ICC Anti-Doping Code coincides with the amendment of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Code.

The ICC became a signatory of WADA in July 2006 and has been testing at its events since 2002. In that time, there has not been a positive test at an ICC event.

According to an ICC statement, the governing body would constitute a doping hearing panel from which three people will be selected to sit as an anti-doping tribunal from time to time in order to determine whether an anti-doping rule violation has been committed.

It has also recently circulated a template anti-doping code for all its members to adopt in order to help them to govern anti-doping matters at domestic level in a consistent and WADA Code-compliant manner.