After testing positive for cocaine prior to his retirement from all cricket last year, former New Zealand international Doug Bracewell was given a two-year suspension, England’s Cricket Regulator said on Friday.
The 35-year-old all-rounder represented New Zealand 69 times in various formats, including 28 Tests, before retiring from cricket in December after concluding his career with Essex in England.
In an in-competition sample collected on September 25 of last year, Bracewell tested positive for cocaine and its metabolite, benzoylecgonine, according to the regulator.
According to the anti-doping rules of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), cocaine is illegal. In a statement, Essex acknowledged that he had failed a drug test.
“While the Club does not condone Bracewell’s behaviour, we are committed to supporting him through rehabilitation in line with our policies and procedures,” Reuters quoted Essex as saying.
After testing positive for cocaine after a domestic Twenty20 competition, Bracewell was also sanctioned in New Zealand in 2024. After completing a substance abuse treatment program, he was suspended for one month.
