In sport and in life, everyone want to do things that bring them joy. On most occasions, no real harm is done. A few scratches here and there but nothing to cause a panic.
However, two recent incidents have shown that its not all fun and games.
Test hopeful Lance Morris is again under an injury cloud after hurting his hand at a social event following Western Australia's one-day clash against England on Saturday.
It is understood Morris was at a party when he cut his non-bowling left hand.
Morris is set to consult a hand specialist to determine the extent of the injury and a timeline on his return to playing.
It comes just over a year after Morris had spinal fracture surgery he hopedwould save his cricket career; after struggling to string games together in recent years.
There were encouraging signs in Saturday's outing as Morris finished with figures of 3–29 off 10 overs; claiming the wickets of England superstar Joe Root as well as Tom Banton and Gus Atkinson.
The 28-year-old speedster's promising career has been regularly interrupted by injury – he has played just 26 first-class matches since his Sheffield Shield debut in October 2020 – and this latest setback comes after what he described as the "longest pre-season" of his career.
"Early doors, after surgery, it was pretty smooth sailing to start with," Morris said last week. "Then as we were starting to return to play, things didn't quite go how we planned and it (became) a little bit turbulent at times.
"More recently, I guess there were a few sessions there where I'd rock up to training and feel pretty average when I was bowling, and pretty down in the dumps."
"(The) side strain, which was another eight weeks on top of what had already been a really long rehab, that was tough to get through. But I've been really grateful for the medical staff at WA Cricket and all the guys getting around me and helping me through the rehab process."
"I feel really good at the moment and I think I've sort of pushed through a bit of a threshold and got back to that game intensity that we were looking for. It's been the longest preseason I've ever had. I'm feeling really fit and firing to attack what's hopefully a pretty big season."
Morris was called into Australia's Test squad in late 2022 after an impressive start to the Sheffield Shield season, with some considering it a matter of time until he made his Test debut.
However, since then he has managed just three one-day internationals; six Shield matches and 22 Big Bash games; due to a wretched injury run. Ahead of last season, Morris underwent stabilisation surgery, a process that involves bolts and wire being put into his lower back.
Just last week, he told ABC Sport's Tom Wildie he hoped to bowl faster than ever after the procedure, hopeful it would not affect his pace and strength.
"That [a loss of pace] was a huge question for me leading into the surgery because I knew that was the asset that made me potentially selectable for red-ball cricket," he said last week.
"I had to look around at other guys that have had the surgery, the likes of Jofra [Archer], Jasprit Bumrah, the guys that have returned to Test cricket at the same speed if not better."
"I've got one eye on the speed gun at all times to see where things are at but I'm pretty happy with where it's at."
When he will be able to return to action remains to be seen. Australia's chair of selectors George Bailey said prior to the injury being revealed that he was excited by what he saw from Morris against England.
"Just excited and happy to see Lance back playing," Bailey said on Monday. "I think particularly that latest setback he had just prior to the start of the season, it just felt like just give the man a little bit of luck. But so yeah, great to see him back on on Saturday against against England, and pretty impressed by how quickly he seemed to get back into into his work and bowled good pace and good areas, and got a nice performance outcome. But overall, just really happy to see him back."
With regular fast bowlers Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Captain Pat Cummins all well into their 30s, Australia is expected to soon be looking for other pace bowling options in the Test arena; with Morris long considered a likely contender for a spot in the XI.
Meanwhile, Laurie Evans has had to deal with a doping ban.
Laurie Evans has revealed he experienced "suicidal thoughts" and has racked up £500 000 in legal fees during a four-year bid to clear his name following a positive drug test for a banned substance.
Evans, the veteran English T20 batter who recently joined Essex from Surrey, tested positive for ostarine, a banned substance which mimics the effects of anabolic steroids. This occurred during a routine drugs test while he was playing for Manchester Originals in the 2022 Men's Hundred. He immediately denied wrongdoing, and served a provisional suspension during the 2022-23 winter; which was lifted in March 2023.
The case continued for three more years, though further details were only recently published after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled against Evans; handing him a backdated two-year ban and removing two years of cricket from his personal records. This was despite the CAS panel ruling that Evans had "rebutted the presumption of intent" - that is, concluding he had no intention to dope.
The case continued for three more years, though further details were only recently published after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled against Evans, handing him a backdated two-year ban and removing two years of cricket from his personal records. This was despite the CAS panel ruling that Evans had "rebutted the presumption of intent" - that is, concluding he had no intention to dope.
In May 2024, the National Anti-Doping Panel (NADP) found that Evans bore "no significant fault or negligence" for the failed test, a decision which was appealed by UK Anti-Doping (UKAD). That appeal was also unsuccessful but the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) then filed a third appeal to CAS. The third appeal was partially upheld and Evans learned his punishment in June.
The CAS judgment was only published on 29 October; nearly four years after Evans was notified of his positive test. He has since revealed the impact that the long-running case has had on him and his family in an interview with Mike Atherton in the Times newspaper.
"I truly hope no one else has to go through the same trauma," he said. "I became depressed and numb to everything. My world was turned upside-down. I didn't leave the house for weeks. I felt like I was dying inside. I was prescribed medicine to help with suicidal thoughts."
The CAS panel emphasised that based on the evidence and considerations of Evans' case - which they describe as "rare" and "confirmed to its own unique facts" - there was no intention to dope but Evans was unable to specify how the drug entered his system; beyond citing possible environmental contamination or a contaminated dietary supplement.
The CAS panel noted, in Evans' favour, the facts that he had been acquitted twice - by the NADP and then an appeal tribunal - and had been tested approximately 20 times over his career without any previous adverse analytical finding. It also noted that he had also shown "notable diligence" relating to his anti-doping obligations.
This was demonstrated through messages in the months leading up to the positive test, which showed Evans double-checking the safety of products provided to him by the ECB and checking the Global Drug Reference Online about whether he could take Sudafed (a widely available over-the-counter cold and flu medication).
Other messages showed Evans had declined to consume a breakfast cereal offered to him by a prospective sponsor because the protein within it hadn't been batch-tested by Informed Sport; the global testing and supplement certification programme.
However, Evans' inability to establish that the source of the ostarine in his sample was a specific contaminated product meant, despite his exhaustive efforts, the CAS panel couldn't establish that he bore 'no fault or negligence' for its presence in his body.
The panel also didn't agree with Evans' claim of contamination by one or more of the 13 supplements he had used in the 48 hours prior to the sample collection; though the specific tubs and containers for the supplements were no longer available for testing by the time Evans was notified of his failed test.
All of the supplements were Informed Sport-certified and were batch-tested with negative results; while three were subject to blind product-testing by Informed Sport and also returned negative results.
The panel also surmised contamination was unlikely given no other Manchester Originals, Surrey or Lancashire player tested positive for Ostarine during the 2022 season; despite communal use of supplements and facilities.
Professor Pascal Kintz, an expert consulted by the panel, noted contamination was the more likely explanation for Evans' positive test given deliberate use would require repetitive dosing to be effective and thus would be flagged in hair analysis. Evans' hair analysis showed no evidence of repeated, large-dose use of ostarine.
Professor David Cowan, an expert enlisted by UKAD, also argued the only plausible intentional use of ostarine consistent with the low concentration in Evans' sample would involve administering it on one or more occasions; several days to one week before the urine sample was provided. He accepted at the NADP hearing that it is "unlikely one would take a microdose [of ostarine] deliberately".
Evans said that he was "gutted" with the outcome of the appeal and added that his sole motivation had been to clear his name. "These four years were not about whether I was a doper. The science is there to prove that I wasn't," Evans added. "I had to find the [contaminated] product, which we didn't do."
The CAS panel ultimately ruled that WADA's appeal should be partially upheld, resulting in a backdated two-year suspension for Evans - deemed to have commenced on May 28, 2024, the date he was initially cleared by the NADP - and his individual achievements from August 23, 2022 to May 28, 2024 being struck from his record.
Evans scored 1 395 T20 runs for six different teams during that period, including a career-best score of 118* for Surrey against Glamorgan. He will not miss any further cricket as a result of his backdated ban, and last month signed for Essex on a one-year deal, citing the need for a "new challenge" at the age of 39.
The 39-year-old has agreed a white-ball contract, which includes an option to play in the County Championship.
Evans also played for Warwickshire and Sussex, as well as global T20 franchises including Perth Scorchers, Barbados Royals and Multan Sultans.
"I have been fortunate enough to play in different environments around the world, and I hope that I can bring that experience into the Essex dressing room," he told the club's website.
"I want to make a positive impact while I'm here, both on and off the field. I can't wait to meet everyone and get out there in an Essex shirt next year, playing in front of what I know is a great fanbase here in Chelmsford and across the county."
Since making his T20 debut for Surrey in 2009, Evans has made 382 appearances; scoring almost 8,000 runs at a strike-rate of just under 140. His record includes: 44 half-centuries; three centuries and a career-high score of 118*.
"Laurie's experience and knowledge will be invaluable in supporting the development of our younger players," Essex's director of cricket Chris Silverwood added. "His ability to help lead both on and off the field will also be a huge benefit to the squad."
Richard Gould, the ECB's chief executive, said that the governing body felt Evans' positive test was "a clear case of contamination" and that he had fallen victim to a "heavy-handed and flawed system". Lancashire (on behalf of Manchester Originals) declined to comment.
Athletes should be careful when doing social events. The slightest action could create an issue for them. This involves the use of medication as well. They should adhere to medication that they are prescribed. They also need to make sure that it doesn't violate any anti-doping laws.