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Cann quits in drugs row

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Lionel Cann in action for St David's. The veteran all rounder has quit domestic cricket for the rest of the season. (Photo by Glenn Tucker)

St. David’s stalwart Lionel Cann has washed his hands of the antisocial behaviour reportedly plaguing his club and the national sport in general and quit domestic cricket for the remainder of the season.Cann’s stunning and abrupt decision stems from an alleged incident said to have involved some of his Islanders team mates that took place in the dressing room during a Premier match at Lords earlier this month.It is alleged that some St. David’s players openly smoked marijuana and ignored pleas to cease indulging in the use of an illicit substance.When approached about the allegations, Cann told The Royal Gazette: “There was some illegal and disrespectful activity going on in the dressing room . There was no respect for fellow players and I told them ‘they can’t do that because it’s not right’.“Everybody has a choice in life and I don’t hold anything against people for what they do. But you have to know that you can’t disrespect your fellow players, especially the youngsters.”Cann claims the alleged incident took place in full view of his teenaged son.“This was definitely disrespectful for a young man to see and something I don’t condone. They definitely crossed the line by doing this sort of thing in front of my 13-year-old son,” he said.“These guys today think they can do whatever they like wherever they like.”Cann partly blames marijuana for the rampant antisocial behaviour plaguing sports and society in general.“I said five years ago that marijuana is an issue in our society- especially in our sports,” he said. “But today it has become the norm and unfortunately we are losing our whole society to it and people keep turning a blind eye to it.”St. David’s County Cricket Club president Aaron Lugo said his committee is aware of the alleged dressing room incident that is to be dealt with during an upcoming meeting.“We have heard about it and we are due to have a meeting to discuss it moving forward,” he said. “It was reported that it was going on but not reported who the individuals were. We at St. David’s have always believed in a drug free policy and strive to keep our athletes drug free.”Cann’s decision to quit could not have come at a worst time as the Islanders are within striking distance of clinching the Premier 50 overs championship and cannot afford to lose one of their key players at this crucial stage of the campaign.With so much at stake, attempts have been made to persuade the veteran player to reconsider packing it in early. But so far these attempts have gone in vain, with Cann vowing to “stick to his guns” until the matter is dealt with.“The league title doesn’t mean nothing to me because I don’t want to play around players who don’t have any respect for –others,” he said.

Lionel Cann