10 August,2009 07:28 AM IST | | A Correspondent
Kiwi speedster Shane Bond has a message for India's stars: adhering to WADA's 'whereabouts' clause is not so tough
With the cricket fraternity divided over agreeing to the World Anti Doping Agency's (WADA's) 'whereabouts' clause, New Zealand speedster Shane Bond has termed the compliance 'necessary'.
"It's not something that you like, but it's also something that you got to do to protect cricket's image.
Assuming one per cent of the cricketers are into drugs, the others, the majority of 99 per cent, should not get tainted," Bond, who is in Chennai with New Zealand 'A' squad for the Buchi Babu tournament, told The Hindu.
The speedster, on a comeback trail to international cricket after disassociating himself with the Indian Cricket League, added it didn't take him long to agree with the 'whereabouts' clause.
"It did not take me more than an hour the first time I filled the forms that dealt with the 'whereabouts' clause. An official of Drug Free Sport in New Zealand, which does the testing for WADA in my country, guided me," Bond said.
"Most of the times we are on tour or playing cricket in the country. That part of our schedule can be handled by the Board. All they want to know is where you could be present for an hour each day during the 90-day period, so that you could be accessed by the testing team.
"On days I was not playing cricket, I gave the time as 6 am when I would be present at my home on most occasions. I generally said I would be available at home, the ground or the gym. In case there is a change in your schedule or you are travelling, you can inform them through the net or SMS. It would not take more than ten minutes."
Bond also revealed that anti-drug testing is not as tedious as is being portrayed in some quarters.
"In my eight years in international cricket, I would not have been tested more than seven times. There is not too much testing for drugs in cricket," Bond said.
