Cricket Australia has chosen not to enforce the International Cricket Council’s new transgender eligibility policy.
The ICC’s new policy was unveiled on Tuesday and will ban any players who have completed male to female transition after going through “any form of male puberty”.
The guidelines leave domestic eligibility up to the local bodies and Cricket Australia has decided not to follow the ICC and will continue to use the previous and more lenient policy.
“Australian Cricket continues to have its own policy in place for domestic cricket which establishes a framework for the inclusion of transgender and gender diverse players balancing considerations such as inclusion and fairness and the wellbeing and safety of athletes,” a CA spokesperson said.
“Our community guidelines prioritise participation and our mission of being a Sport for All.”
The previous policy does not provide an age deadline for the participant to have completed their transition and requires their testosterone levels be below 10 nanomols per litre continuously for a period of at least 12 months.
A woman’s natural level is usually 0.5 and men have between 10 and 35.
The rules have not been needed in Australian professional cricket yet but they would allow transgender athletes to play domestic cricket but not be selected for Australia.
Cricket NSW and Queensland Cricket have both told SkyNews.com.au they will be following the national body’s policy. The other states were contacted for comment.
The amended international policy was likely sparked by Australian-born Danielle McGahey representing Canda at the international level after a male to female transition.
McGahey is unable to play international cricket under the ICC’s new policy but if returned home she would be able to play professional cricket in Australia.
The 29-year-old opening batter played grade cricket with men in Melbourne before moving to Canada in February 2020 where she began to socially transition in November of that year.
She then made the medical switch to a woman in May 2021 and was selected to play for the Canadian women’s cricket team in October 2022.
Upon hearing about the new ICC ruling which ultimately ended her international career McGahey said she would continue to fight for equality.
“Following the ICC’s decision, it is with a very heavy heart that I must say that my international cricketing career is over. As quickly as it begun, it must now end,” she wrote on social media.
“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 saying 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. Never stop fighting!”
The ICC released its new policy after nine months of consultation with relevant stakeholders and the amendments aim to protect the “integrity of the women’s game, safety, fairness and inclusion”.
“Any male to female participants who have been through any form of male puberty will not be eligible to participate in the international women’s game regardless of any surgery or gender reassignment treatment they may have undertaken,” the new policy states.
The ICC guidelines only relate to international cricket with gender eligibility at the domestic level to be determined by the local bodies.
The review of transgender eligibility was led by the ICC Medical Advisory Committee chaired by Dr Peter Harcourt and the new guidelines will be reviewed within two years.
Former Australian captain Alex Blackwell was “disappointed” with the ICC’s ruling and called on CA to continue its policy of inclusion for transgender players.
“I’m disappointed to see ICC have banned trans athletes in international cricket. I believe there are ways to include fairly, however this takes effort & education,” she wrote on X.
(SKY NEWS)
