We’re going to bat for trans people in amateur cricket

Earlier this year, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) decided to reverse years of trans inclusion in the amateur game, imposing a blanket ban on trans women being able to play women’s cricket. This ban has been insisted upon even where clubs and leagues want to continue to be inclusive. We believe this is unlawful, and we’re taking legal action to fight back.

This ban wasn’t about the top athletes, or sensitive decisions considering fairness and safety. Rather, their position seems to be that, following the For Women Scotland decision, it cannot be discriminatory to exclude trans women from women’s sport – and they are under no obligation to justify it. We think they are wrong.

Blanket bans excluding trans people from playing grassroots sports can have a serious detrimental impact on those people’s lives. For many trans people, participation in amateur sports isn’t just a way to get exercise – it’s where they find community and make friends. And those being banned don’t just risk isolation – they risk being outed when asked to explain why suddenly they can no longer play. We don’t think trans people should be put in this position just because they want to play sports with their friends.

We have instructed a top legal team and informed the ECB that we think they are acting unlawfully. We plan to challenge their policy of exclusion, and have commenced pre-action correspondence outlining the unlawfulness of their position. 

Over the weekend, we heard that sports teams at universities are now being told they must implement such bans, even when they want to remain inclusive. Now is the moment to make clear that we think that blanket, unjustified trans sports bans are unlawful, and we plan to fight them.