Barker to return in July after anti-doping violation

Hampshire cricketer Keith Barker has been handed a 12-month ban after testing positive for a banned substance. The left-arm pacer has been suspended from all forms of cricket by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). He will be eligible to return to competitive cricket on July 4.

The 38-year-old tested positive during a routine doping test in last summer’s county season. Following the discovery, he was provisionally suspended, with the ban now officially set to last one year, retroactively starting from July of last year.

In a hearing held on March 5 this year, Barker admitted to breaching two anti-doping regulations of the ECB. The UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) agency confirmed that following this hearing, Barker’s 12-month suspension was finalized.

During the previous County Championship season, Barker played four matches for Hampshire, taking 16 wickets at an average of 24.37. Over his career so far, he has featured in 167 first-class matches, claiming 533 wickets and scoring nearly 5,500 runs, including six centuries.