Giddins Is Rebuffed (9 Nov 1996)

9 November 1996

Giddins is rebuffed

By Richard Bright

ED GIDDINS said yesterday he hoped to sign for a new county next week after his appeal against a 19-month suspension for drugtaking was rejected at Lord`s yesterday.

In August the England A seam bowler was banned from playing until April 1998 by the Test and County Cricket Board and sacked by Sussex, having tested positive for cocaine at a championship match against Kent at Tunbridge Wells in May.

After yesterday`s 2.5-hour hearing he said he was "very, very disappointed and upset" by the decision of the Cricket Council appeals committee, chaired by Desmond Perrett QC.

He said: "I was appealing against the harshness of the sentence, against losing my livelihood for the best part of two years."

Giddins, 25, who had been approached by a number of counties, added: "I want to stay in cricket and I`m not going to leave it, that`s for sure."

He plans to spend the next six weeks selling Christmas trees in south London after going into partnership with Nadeem Shahid, the Surrey cricketer.

Source :: Electronic Telegraph (https://www.telegraph.co.uk)