Laurie Evans: ‘My world was turned upside-down’ during four-year fight against doping ban

English cricketer Laurie Evans revealed he experienced suicidal thoughts and spent £500,000 in legal fees fighting a four-year anti-doping case. The Court of Arbitration for Sport handed Evans a backdated two-year ban and erased two years of records after testing positive for ostarine during the 2022 Men's Hundred. While the panel found Evans had no intention to dope, his inability to prove the precise source of contamination led to the ruling.

Evans had previously been cleared twice by independent panels before the World Anti-Doping Agency appealed to CAS. Because the two-year ban was backdated to May 2024, Evans will serve no additional time away from the sport and has recently signed a one-year deal with Essex. England and Wales Cricket Board chief executive Richard Gould criticized the process, describing Evans as a victim of a flawed system.