2 MAY 2025 - Today we’ve published an update about transgender participation in women’s cricket, following legal advice about the impact of the recent Supreme Court hearing. You may have seen that other sporting bodies have announced similar steps in recent days. 

 

We’ve included our full statement below, and appreciate there will be many questions people have. We’ve published an FAQs which will cover some of these. If you have other questions, please get in touch with your usual contacts. We will be working with our Recreational Cricket Boards, leagues and other cricket organisations to implement these changes as smoothly as possible. 

 

ECB Statement on Transgender Policy 

 

The ECB is today announcing a change to its regulations regarding eligibility for transgender players in women’s and girls’ cricket. This is based on the updated legal position following the recent Supreme Court ruling. 

With immediate effect, only those whose biological sex is female will be eligible to play in women’s cricket and girls’ cricket matches. Transgender women and girls can continue playing in open and mixed cricket. 

Our regulations for recreational cricket have always aimed at ensuring that cricket remains as inclusive a sport as possible. These included measures to manage disparities, irrespective of someone’s gender, and safeguard the enjoyment of all players. However, given the new advice received about the impact of the Supreme Court ruling, we believe the changes announced today are necessary. 

We acknowledge that this decision will have a significant impact on transgender women and girls. We will work with Recreational Cricket Boards to support people impacted by this change in our regulations. 

We await updated guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and will study this carefully. 

We maintain that abuse or discrimination has no place in our sport and are committed to ensuring that cricket is played in a spirit of respect and inclusivity.