CRICKET HAS TO DEAL WITH THIS SORDID LAD CULTURE

THE Professional Cricketers’ Association’s assertion that Alex Hepburn’s conviction for raping a sleeping woman was a ‘stark reminder... of all requirements and behaviours demanded of a professional cricketer’ was simply ludicrous. There was no thought for the victim or mention of ongoing support for former Worcestershire player Hepburn (below), merely a plug for their ‘Personal Development and Welfare Programme’, which is clearly not fit for purpose. Hepburn, 23, told the court that up to six Worcestershire players took part in a ‘stats game’ in 2016 to sleep with as many women as possible, with him scoring a ‘ball-park’ figure of 20. Another ‘game’ was started on a WhatsApp group in 2017 before Hepburn raped a woman on April 1 after she had consensual sex with his then team-mate Joe Clarke. Worcestershire said they were appalled by the case, but were then also quick to highlight their ‘education, welfare and development programmes’. Again, no mention of the victim or how this laddish culture, which prosecutors said dehumanised women, was allowed to develop. The ECB are likely to ask their cricket discipline commission to begin a probe into the conduct of Worcestershire’s players, but the net must surely be cast much wider than that. Hepburn will be sentenced at Hereford Crown Court on April 30.