England cricketers Joe Clarke and Tom Kohler-Cadmore in trouble after WhatsApp revelations

Back in January 2019, Joe Clarke and Tom Kohler Cadmore were left out of the England Lions squad for the tour of India. The decision was made after revelations about their off-field behaviour in the course of the rape trial of Alex Hepburn came to the fore. All of Hepburn, Clarke and Kohler Cadmore were teammates in Worcestershire in the English domestic circuit.

It has now been learned that Clarke along with Kohler Cadmore have been informed that they won’t be considered for selection until further notice. The two cricketers were named in the trial of Hepburn as members of a WhatsApp group that exchanged rather disrespectful messages about women. In the case, Hepburn was jailed for five years having been found guilty of rape.

Troubles for the English duo

Clarke and Kohler-Cadmore weren’t charged as per reports in ESPNcricinfo. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) was concerned about the tone of the messages, but the judge clarified that Clarke was involved in ‘nothing wrong’ on the night of the attack. The ECB’s Cricket Discipline Commission is now busy pondering on whether to bring a case against either men or not.

As of now, the duo will be in contention for selection neither for the Lions’ team nor for the England national team. Back in 2017, Hepburn, Clarke and Kohler Cadmore was a part of the Worcestershire team back in the time of the rape. Clarke joined Nottinghamshire at the end of the 2018 season even as Kohler Cadmore left for Yorkshire midway through the 2017 season.

Apart from the three cricketers, Steve Rhodes, who was Worcestershire’s director of cricket at the time of the crime, also came under fire. Rhodes, also a former English wicketkeeper, was sacked for not reporting Hepburn’s arrest to the club officials in a timely manner and also stepped down from his position as the England coach from the U19 World Cup in New Zealand last year.

Here is a screenshot of their chat:

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