Chris Wood celebrates a wicket © Getty Images
Chris Wood, the Hampshire left-arm seamer, hopes that other gambling addicts will use his example to reach out for support, after being handed a two-month suspended ban following an investigation by the ECB’s Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) into his betting activities.
Wood, who was this week handed a one-year extension to his white-ball contract at the Ageas Bowl, admitted back in April that he had been suffering from an 11-year gambling addiction, and was praised at the time by the PCA for being the first active cricketer to speak out about such a problem.
Nevertheless, in the course of his addiction, Wood was found to be in breach of the ECB’s Anti-Corruption Code, and pleaded guilty to charges relating to a total of nine bets placed on cricket matches in 2011 (two bets) and 2016 (seven bets).
However, by admitting responsibility for his actions and fully co-operating…