TRELAWNY, March 9: The International Cricket Council (ICC) have tested selected players in World Cup warm-up games to ensure a drugs-free tournament, a senior official said on Thursday.

“I understand that there were some target testing done at practice matches,” Dave Richardson, ICC general manager, cricket, told reporters. He did not give any names.

“Whether there will be some more testing in tomorrow's games I'm not sure,” he said, referring to the final warm-up matches.

Doping came to the fore before the World Cup, opening in the West Indies on March 11, due to the controversy around Pakistan fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif who tested positive last year.

The ICC then announced specific players would be tested apart from the routine random testing during matches.

The Pakistani duo were withdrawn from last year's Champions Trophy after testing positive for the banned steroid nandrolone and suspended but a Pakistan appeals tribunal cleared them of any wrongdoing.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has appealed against that decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sports and its decision is pending.

“It has become an issue unfortunately, but touch wood we should maintain the record that no player has tested positive at an ICC event,” said Richardson.

Urine samples would be tested in Jamaica which has a good laboratory due to the presence of world class athletes.—Reuters