New rule: Batsman out, gender-neutral ‘batter’ in

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 22

The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), the custodian of the laws of cricket, has decided to go gender-neutral on one of the most commonly used terms in cricket, ‘batsman’.

The MCC today announced amendments to the laws of the sport so that from now terms “batter” and “batters” would be used in the rules, rather than “batsman” or “batsmen”.

The changes have been approved by the MCC Committee, which currently includes Sourav Ganguly, Alastair Cook, Kumar Dharmasena and Ricky Ponting and Shane Warne, among others, the club said in a statement. The London-based MCC believes that the use of gender-neutral terminology would help reinforce cricket’s status as an inclusive game for all.

The MCC said in a statement that at time of the last redraft of the laws two years ago, it was agreed, after consultations with the International Cricket Council (ICC), that the terminology would remain as “batsman” and “batsmen”. However, the MCC noted today that the changes reflect the wider usage of the terms “batter” and “batters” in cricketing circles since then. “The move to ‘batter’ is a natural progression, aligning with the terms of bowlers and fielders that already fits within the laws,” an MCC statement added.

Before today’s announcement, news outlets have been using terms such as batsman, batswoman and batter for female cricketers. However, female cricketers have been referring to themselves as batters for a long time, and now MCC wants men’s game to use batter rather than batsman.

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