Former Zimbabwe cricket captain Williams dropped permanently from national team over drug addiction

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Former Zimbabwe cricket captain Sean Williams won’t be selected for his country again after disclosing that a drug addiction was the reason he skipped some matches, the national federation said Tuesday.

Zimbabwe Cricket held an investigation into why Williams suddenly withdrew from the squad on the eve of a Twenty20 World Cup qualifying competition in September. During the investigation, “Williams disclosed that he has been struggling with drug addiction and has voluntarily entered rehabilitation,” ZC said in a statement.

Williams’ withdrawal was likely because of potential drug tests at the competition, ZC said. Zimbabwe hosted and went on to win the eight-team African tournament to qualify for the T20 World Cup early next year in India and Sri Lanka.

ZC did not give any details on which drug Williams admitted using but said he had “a history of disciplinary issues and repeated unavailability,” though it commended him for entering rehab.

The 39-year-old batter will not be considered for the national team again and his contract will not be renewed when it expires at the end of this year, ZC said.

Williams made his debut for Zimbabwe in 2005 and ended up playing for his country for 20 years, appearing in 24 tests, 164 one-day internationals and 85 T20 internationals. His highest test score of 154 came last December against Afghanistan.

Another former Zimbabwe captain, Brendan Taylor, said in 2022 that his cocaine use led to him being blackmailed by match-fixers. Taylor denied fixing any games but admitted accepting $15,000 from fixers on a visit to India and was banned for 3 1/2 years for breaching cricket’s anti-corruption code and for testing positive for a cocaine metabolite.

Taylor, who is also 39, returned to the national team in August.

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AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket