Revealed: Leicestershire bowler Chris Wright's mysterious absence from County Championship is due to a failed drugs test last year - with veteran attributing positive result due to cross-contamination

Leicestershire seamer Chris Wright's mysterious absence from County Championship action this summer is due to him serving a ban for a failed drugs test, Mail Sport can reveal.

Veteran seamer Wright signed a new two-year deal at Grace Road last autumn, after reneging on the same length of contract with Division Two rivals Sussex citing family issues.

However, the former Middlesex, Essex and Warwickshire player was subsequently missing across pre-season, did not appear on the county's official team photographs for 2024 and the club described him as unavailable for 'personal reasons' during the opening weeks of this campaign.

Wright, 38, is understood to have tested positive for a prohibited substance late last year, but has attributed such a result to cross-contamination in a case with echoes of that of Surrey's Laurie Evans two years ago.

Evans denied any wrongdoing after traces of a banned product were shown up in an anti-doping sample while representing Manchester Originals in the Hundred during the 2022 season.

Wright will return to playing in the coming weeks, after serving a back-dated suspension.

Leicestershire and the player's representatives declined to comment when contacted by Mail Sport.

Wright, who has 588 first-class wickets over a 20-year career, is back in training and will be available for the Foxes' one-day title defence next month.

The 50-over competition - which Wright helped Leicestershire win last September with figures of two for 44 in the final against Hampshire - begins on July 24.