Bridgetown (Barbados), Nov 19 (IANS/CMC): West Indies batsman Tremayne Smartt has been slapped with a five-month ban by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for a doping violation.
The 26-year-old Guyanese tested positive for the drug Furosemide following a random test at the end of a Twenty20 International against Pakistan in Georgetown in September, and will now be out of action until March 25 next year.
Furosemide is a diuretic and is on the World Anti Doping Agency's banned list of substances.
On Friday in London, an independent anti-doping tribunal comprising acting chairman Tim Kerr, Anik Sax and Peter Sever heard the case after mulling over written and legal evidence along with live testimony from Smartt.
The player pleaded guilty to the offence. An ICC release said the tribunal "exercised its discretion under the ICC Code to impose upon her a period of ineligibility of five months".
Smartt, who has played 15 One-Day Internationals and 12 Twenty20 Internationals since making her debut two years ago, was deeply apologetic over the episode.
"It was never my intention to breach the anti-doping regulations and I did attempt to check the Prohibited List myself," she said.
"However, I acknowledge that I did not do this effectively and have to accept the consequences. My experience should act as a warning to all cricketers that they should never take any medical products without first consulting a qualified sports medicine practitioner.
"I deeply regret the embarrassment that this episode has brought upon me and the West Indies Cricket Board, and apologize to my team-mates and all fans of West Indies cricket."
The tribunal accepted evidence that Smartt had taken the substance to treat a swelling in her knee and that she had no intention to enhance her sporting performance or mask the use of another performance enhancer.
However, the tribunal said Smartt had "failed to satisfy the high levels of personal responsibility implicit upon her as an international cricketer subject to anti-doping rules."
Smartt was left out of the West Indies squad for the current World Cup qualifiers in Bangladesh.