Duncan Spencer
Encyclopedia
Duncan Spencer was an English
cricket
er. Born in Nelson, Lancashire
, he was a right-handed batsman and a right-arm fast bowler. Spencer's first cricketing appearances came as part of an England A
side playing against a Western Australia XI during an Australian tour in 1993.
Spencer's debut first-class match came in the 1993 County Championship, though he only played one further match before signing for Western Australia in time for the 1994 Sheffield Shield. Western Australia finished in third place in the league during Spencer's season at the club. Just three months after the end of the competition, he played once again in the County Championship, though he made little impact in the four games in which he played and Kent finished the season in midtable as Spencer dropped out of the county game with back trouble, but not before none other than Sir Vivian Richards rated Spencer as the fastest bowler he had ever faced.
After 6 years out of the Western Australian side, he returned to play six one-day matches for WA in the 2000/01 season and after the last of these matches, he returned a positive drug test to the anabolic steroid
nandrolone
. He was found guilty and suspended from all competitive cricket for 18 months. Spencer claimed that it was taken to relieve the pain caused by chronic back injuries.
Spencer returned to sign for Sussex
at the age of 34, signing for the start of the 2006 County Championship season. However, Spencer played just one County Championship match following his return, moving to Minor Counties outfit Buckinghamshire
during the second half of the season.
Spencer was on the losing side of the 2006 Minor Counties Championship final. Throughout his career, he played as a lower-order batsman, particularly during his matches in England.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er. Born in Nelson, Lancashire
Nelson, Lancashire
Nelson is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England, with a population of 28,998 in 2001. It lies 4 miles north of Burnley on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal....
, he was a right-handed batsman and a right-arm fast bowler. Spencer's first cricketing appearances came as part of an England A
England A cricket team
The England Lions cricket team is a cricket team representing England and Wales. It is the "second-tier" of international English cricket below the full England cricket team, and is largely intended as a way for promising young cricketers to gain experience of playing international cricket...
side playing against a Western Australia XI during an Australian tour in 1993.
Spencer's debut first-class match came in the 1993 County Championship, though he only played one further match before signing for Western Australia in time for the 1994 Sheffield Shield. Western Australia finished in third place in the league during Spencer's season at the club. Just three months after the end of the competition, he played once again in the County Championship, though he made little impact in the four games in which he played and Kent finished the season in midtable as Spencer dropped out of the county game with back trouble, but not before none other than Sir Vivian Richards rated Spencer as the fastest bowler he had ever faced.
After 6 years out of the Western Australian side, he returned to play six one-day matches for WA in the 2000/01 season and after the last of these matches, he returned a positive drug test to the anabolic steroid
Anabolic steroid
Anabolic steroids, technically known as anabolic-androgen steroids or colloquially simply as "steroids", are drugs that mimic the effects of testosterone and dihydrotestosterone in the body. They increase protein synthesis within cells, which results in the buildup of cellular tissue ,...
nandrolone
Nandrolone
Nandrolone is an anabolic steroid that may be present naturally in the human body, albeit in minute quantities of less than 0.4 ng/ml. Nandrolone is most commonly sold commercially as its decanoate ester and less commonly as a phenylpropionate ester...
. He was found guilty and suspended from all competitive cricket for 18 months. Spencer claimed that it was taken to relieve the pain caused by chronic back injuries.
Spencer returned to sign for Sussex
Sussex County Cricket Club
Sussex County Cricket Club is the oldest of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Sussex. The club was founded as a successor to Brighton Cricket Club which was a representative of the county of Sussex as a...
at the age of 34, signing for the start of the 2006 County Championship season. However, Spencer played just one County Championship match following his return, moving to Minor Counties outfit Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire County Cricket Club
Buckinghamshire County Cricket Club is one of the county clubs which make up the Minor Counties in the English domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Buckinghamshire and playing in the Minor Counties Championship and the MCCA Knockout Trophy. The Minor Counties play...
during the second half of the season.
Spencer was on the losing side of the 2006 Minor Counties Championship final. Throughout his career, he played as a lower-order batsman, particularly during his matches in England.