The International Cricket Council (ICC) board has banned transgender players from international women’s cricket.
New gender eligibility regulations stop cricketers who have been through male puberty and identify as female from playing the international women’s game.
The ICC board said it approved new gender eligibility regulations following a nine-month consultation process with stakeholders.
“The new policy is based on the following principles (in order of priority), protection of the integrity of the women’s game, safety, fairness and inclusion,” the board said.
With A Very Heavy Heart
Australian-born Canadian cricketer Danielle McGahey, in a post to Instagram, said “we are not a threat” in an Instagram post following the decision.“While I hold my opinions on the ICC’s decision, they are irrelevant. What matters is the message being sent to millions of trans women today, a messaging say that we don’t belong.
“I promise I will not stop fighting for equality for us in our sport, we deserve the right to play cricket at the highest level, we are not a threat to the integrity or safety of the sport.”
Born in the Australian state of Brisbane, Mr. McGahey started playing in a men’s team in Melbourne before moving to Canada.
Founded in Science
International Cricket Council chief executive Geoff Allardice said the decision was “founded in science” and made to protect the integrity of the international women’s game and player safety.“The changes to the gender eligibility regulations resulted from an extensive consultation process and is founded in science and aligned with the core principles developed during the review,” Mr. Allardice said in a statement.
“Inclusivity is incredibly important to us as a sport, but our priority was to protect the integrity of the international women’s game and the safety of players.”
The nine-month review ahead of the decision was led by an ICC medical advisory committee chaired by Dr Peter Harcourt. The review only considered gender eligibility for international women’s cricket. The decision will be reviewed in two years.