The International Cricket Council (ICC) heaved a huge sigh of relief after it was found that the just-concluded World Cup was a drug-free affair.
The ICC has announced that all the cricketers who underwent dope tests in the West Indies produced negative results.
In the previous ICC event, the Champions Trophy in India, all the participating players also came out clean. Interestingly, just before the tournament was about to start, Pakistan withdrew the pace duo of Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif after they had failed dope tests back home.
Players were randomly selected in 15 of the 51 matches, including both the semifinals and the final, and a total of 68 samples were analysed.
This time hardly anything went right in the World Cup. The long-drawn schedule drew flak from all quarters, spectator turn-up was disappointing and to top it all, Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer was murdered in the Kingston hotel room.
While everything went awry, the revelation that there was no doping case would surely be a morale-booster for the organizers.
