CRICKET rapist Alex Hepburn will be allowed to return to the sport in Australia.

The former Worcestershire cricketer was last month banned from cricket in England and Wales for ten years.

The ruling came after Hepburn was convicted of rape and sentenced to five years in prison in 2019.

His conviction was upheld following an appeal in 2020 but he was released in 2021 and returned to his native Australia.

And he will now be allowed to play cricket in the country following a judgement by the WA District Cricket Council.

A WA Cricket Association spokeswoman said: “The Cricket Discipline Commission and Cricket Regulator in the UK have no jurisdiction in Western Australia.

“The Western Australian District Cricket Council is responsible for decisions relating to player eligibility in the Premier Cricket competition.

“From WA Cricket down to club cricket there are systems and policies in place to safeguard and protect those playing our game.”

Hepburn, 28, was charged by the Cricket Regulator with two breaches of the 2017 England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) Directives.

The first pertained to his arrest and conviction, while the other related to him being part of an offensive WhatsApp group.

Hepburn committed the rape after setting up a group chat for a “sexual conquest contest”.

Hepburn’s former team-mates Joe Clarke and Tom Kohler-Cadmore were charged by the ECB in 2019 for bringing the game into disrepute due to being a part of the WhatsApp group but were not charged with a criminal offence