NZ cricketer cops two-year drug ban

In a rare case of performance-enhancing drugs in cricket, a New Zealand cricketer has been banned from the sport for two years for the use of anabolic steroids and hormones.

A medium-fast bowler with the Paraparaumu Cricket Club, Adam King was banned by Sports Tribunal of New Zealand, following a charges brought by Drug Free Sport NZ (DFSNZ).

King had played for Paraparaumu since 2011 and represented Horowhenua-Kapiti in New Zealand's Hawke Cup competition in 2013 and 2016.

DFSNZ alleged King was in possession of prohibited substances nandrolone and testosterone in 2014, along with hormones in 2015, after being alerted by medicine and medical devices regulator Medsafe.

While King had hoped to "to put on lean and athletic muscle" by using the substances, he soon found there were unintended consequences.

"I liked looking bigger and more muscular," King said.

"However, overall, the excessive weight gain leading to a loss of agility and flexibility and tendonitis in my knees was detrimental to my cricket."

Worried he'd developed symptoms of gynecomastia (male breast enlargement) from using the steroids, King hoped the hormones would help to counter that side-effect.

DFSNZ had wanted to take King to the Sports Tribunal earlier but were delayed as he'd left to play for Shrewsbury Cricket Club in England during the northern summer.

King managed three wickets and 42 runs in 17 games for Shrewsbury's first XI in the Birmingham Cricket and District League, one of the strongest club competitions in the United Kingdom.

The agency's chief executive Graeme Steel says there was always a high risk that athletes ordering prohibited substances online would be caught.

"Mr King has paid a high price for a poor decision which has affected his future in cricket," he said.

"We work closely with Medsafe and other enforcement agencies to share information regarding potential breaches of the Sports Anti-Doping Rules.

"Those who buy prohibited substances online are making a huge mistake, and as well as cheating, are putting their health and their sporting career at great risk."

King's two-year ban was back-dated to start on May 1, 2016.

"Anyone who thinks they can possess or take prohibited substances and get away with it, should think again," Steel added.

"No matter what level of sport, using steroids or any other prohibited substances simply does not fit with the New Zealand sense of what good clean sport is all about.

"It's a shame that athletes resort to taking shortcuts such as this to enhance their performance on the sports field. Success cannot be satisfying when you know you had an illegal advantage that others didn't."