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Alex Hepburn faces a retrial in April
Alex Hepburn faces a retrial in April. Photograph: Andrew Matthews/PA
Alex Hepburn faces a retrial in April. Photograph: Andrew Matthews/PA

Pair out of England Lions tour over Alex Hepburn trial revelations

This article is more than 5 years old
Joe Clarke and Tom Kohler-Cadmore dropped from India party
ECB responds after details emerged about Whatsapp group

Joe Clarke and Tom Kohler-Cadmore, two promising young batsmen, have been stood down from the England Lions tour to India that departs Saturday in light of details that emerged during the trial of their former Worcestershire teammate Alex Hepburn.

Hepburn, an Australian-born second XI player, had contested two counts of rape at Worcester crown court this week but is now facing the prospect of a retrial in April after the jury failed to deliver a majority verdict on Friday following nine hours of deliberations.

The 23-year-old all-rounder, who left the court in tears, is alleged to have had sex with a woman in her 20s in April 2017 while she was initially asleep. The alleged victim, who gave evidence, said she believed he was Clarke, Hepburn’s flatmate, whom she had returned with following a night out.

Neither Clarke, who moved to Nottinghamshire at the end of last season, or Kohler-Cadmore, who joined Yorkshire in 2017, was accused of wrongdoing on the night in question – the latter was not present in the flat – and they faced no criminal charges themselves.

But some of the evidence heard in court – chiefly that referencing a WhatsApp group recording sexual conquests – is understood to have prompted the England and Wales Cricket Board to stand Clarke and Kohler-Cadmore down from the upcoming Lions tour pending an investigation by the governing body.

Clarke, who was present on the night in question but said in court that he had fallen asleep in a toilet at the time of the alleged incident because of alcohol consumption, gave evidence while Kohler-Cadmore did not. Kohler-Cadmore was not specifically named as a contributor to the WhatsApp group other than the name “Tom” being referenced.

Nevertheless, the ECB believes the 24-year-old batsman was part of the online chat group. The governing body’s investigation will now continue but any possible cricketing disciplinary action against the three players would not take place until after Hepburn’s legal case has been concluded.

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Representatives for Clarke and Kohler-Cadmore have been approached for comment.

England Lions are due to face India A in a five-match 50-over series in Thiruvananthapuram from 23 January, before two unofficial ‘Tests’ against the same opposition in early February. Replacements for Clarke and Kohler-Cadmore, who were in the squads for both formats, have not been announced.

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