It’s batters, not batsmen in the laws of cricket
NEW DELHI: Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), the 234-year-old custodians of cricket’s laws, took a big step towards gender equality in cricket by announcing that it will now use the gender-neutral term “batter/batters” instead of “batsman/batsmen” in its laws from now on.
The changes approved by the MCC Committee after initial discussion by its specialist laws subcommittee makes formal a term already in use not just in women’s cricket, but also by some media organisations as the preferred word over “batsman”.
The timing is good too — in a week, MCC will mark another historic moment by welcoming a woman president for the first time. Former England captain Clare Connor will formally take charge on October 1 as head of an organisation that had long faced criticism as a male preserve.
The first women’s Test was played in December 1934, and it has taken almost 87 years for a gender neutral term to be brought in for one of the game’s most important terms.
Minutes after the announcement, social media was already full of questions like how MCC will address terms such as “nightwatchman”, “third man”, and “12th man”.
“The fielding position ‘third man’, along with other cricketing terms like ‘nightwatchman’ and ‘12th Man’ are not included in the Laws, and so any changes to such terms are outside of MCC’S control as Guardians of the Laws,” the MCC’S official handle tweeted in response.
MCC said it believes the use of gender-neutral terminology helps reinforce cricket’s status as an inclusive game for all. “The amendments are a natural evolution from work already undertaken in this area as well as an essential part of MCC’S global responsibility to the sport,” it stressed in a statement. The amendment has already been made to the Laws of Cricket handbook.
Gender equality has been hard fought in sports and has made some big strides in recent years. The US soccer body last week announced equal contracts for men and women, meeting a vociferous demand from its fourtime World Cup winning women’s team. In 2007, Wimbledon became the last Grand Slam in tennis to offer equal prize money to men and women.
The International Cricket Council, some years ago, mandated that the national cricket boards of its member countries also run the women’s game, accelerating progress. With T20 cricket’s chances of becoming an Olympic sport growing, the need for gender equality in cricket is also increasing. The Paris 2024 Olympics will be the first in the Game’s history to feature equal number of men and women athletes.
However, even four years ago, MCC was opposed to changing
“batsmen” to “batters”.
“At the time of the last redraft in 2017 it was agreed, following consultation with the ICC and key figures within women’s cricket, that the terminology would remain as “batsman” and “batsmen” within the Laws of the game. The changes announced today reflect the wider usage of the terms “batter” and “batters” which has occurred in cricketing circles in the intervening period. The move to “batter” is a natural progression, aligning with the terms of bowlers and fielders that already sit within the Laws,” the MCC statement said.
MCC pointed to a significant shift that happened in the global fan base for the women’s game since that earlier decision.
“Women’s cricket has enjoyed unprecedented growth at all levels around the world in the same period. England’s victory over India in the 2017 World Cup Final took place in front of a capacity crowd at Lord’s. A record international crowd saw Australia defeat India in the T20 World Cup Final in Melbourne three years later and earlier this year, Lord’s broke the record for a domestic women’s match as 17,116 watched Oval Invincibles defeat Southern Brave.”