Explained: Why England cricket board has banned transgender women from top tiers

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has changed its transgender participation policy which will now restrict the participation of transgender women in the top two tiers of the new women’s domestic structure and the women’s Hundred. The change in policy is the same as the International Cricket Council’s last year decision which banned an individual who has undergone male puberty from participating in the women’s international matches.

The ECB on Thursday said that the new changes will bring in consistency as the aim of the top tiers in domestic cricket is to produce cricketers for national teams. It also added that while making the changes it “considered the interaction between fairness, safety and inclusion.”

“The consultation process was extended last year following the decision of the International Cricket Commission (ICC) to move to a model whereby eligibility for women’s international cricket will be determined by whether an individual has undergone male puberty,” the ECB said in its statement.

“Having considered wide-ranging views gathered during the consultation, as well as in consultations conducted during 2023, and the relevant science and medical evidence, the ECB has decided that from 2025 it will adopt the same approach as the ICC for women’s professional domestic cricket. This provides consistency, given that a primary purpose of the top end of the domestic structure is to produce international players.

“The detailed policy will now be developed over the coming months, in consultation with stakeholders, and is due to be formally in place in time for the 2025 domestic season. It will apply to Tiers 1 and 2 of the new women’s domestic structure from 2025, as well as The Hundred Women’s competition.”

Doors open at Tier 3

ECB also confirmed that Tier 3 of the new domestic system which will roll out in 2025 and recreational cricket will allow players to take part in the gender they identify.

“The ECB is striving to become the most inclusive team sport, and recreational cricket and Tier 3 of the domestic structure – which comprises National Counties – will continue to use the existing social model, where individuals are accepted in the gender they identify as. A Disparity Policy is already in place to ensure safety whereby clubs and leagues across the country are able to address the disparity between players participating in a match well above or below their ability where there is a concern that a serious injury could occur, irrespective of their gender,” ECB added.

What was the previous policy?

ECB’s previous policy allowed a transgender woman to take part in the women’s professional matches if they were cleared by the board. The clearance was given on a case-by-case basis.

ECB takes a different route than Cricket Australia

The latest policy is also in direct conflict with what Cricket Australia follows. According to CA’s policy, a trans woman should keep their concentration of testosterone in serum to less than 10 nanomoles per litre continuously for 12 months or more in order to play in women’s cricket competitions at the professional level.