Former Worcestershire all-rounder, Alex Hepburn, has been prohibited from participating in cricket-related activities in England and Wales for 10 years. This follows his conviction for rape in 2019, for which he was sentenced to five years in prison. Hepburn, now 28, was released from jail in 2021, and his ban has been backdated to that time.
Hepburn, currently residing in Australia, was found guilty during a retrial in 2019 for an assault that occurred in Worcester in 2017. His conviction was upheld by the Court of Appeal in 2020. The assault took place on April 1, 2017, during the first night of a "sexual conquest competition" that Hepburn had helped organize via a WhatsApp group with his teammates.
Earlier this year, the Cricket Regulator charged Hepburn with two breaches of the 2017 England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) Directives. The first breach stemmed from his arrest and criminal conviction, while the second related to his involvement in an inappropriate WhatsApp group.
Hepburn did not respond to the charges, and the independent Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC), which handles disciplinary cases in professional cricket across England and Wales, made its ruling in his absence.
In addition to the ban, Hepburn is required to undergo professional treatment addressing the issues that led to his criminal behavior. He must also complete training and education programs before being allowed to return to any form of cricket involvement.
Two of Hepburn's teammates, Joe Clarke and Tom Kohler-Cadmore, were charged by the ECB in 2019 for bringing the sport into disrepute due to their association with the WhatsApp group that surfaced during Hepburn's trial. However, neither player faced any criminal charges.