The word ‘batsman’ will no longer be used in cricket, MCC amended the rules

MCC Amended Cricket Rules: The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) today announced that the term gender neutral ‘batter’ will now be used for both men and women instead of ‘batsman’ with immediate effect. The amendment to these rules has been approved by the MCC committee. Earlier, the club’s expert rules sub-committee had discussed in this regard.

The MCC, the custodian of the Laws of the Game, said in a statement, “The MCC believes that the use of gender-neutral (without regard to either male or female) terminology being uniform for all would improve the standard of cricket. will help to do so.

“These amendments are a natural development of the work already done in this area and an essential part of MCC’s global responsibility towards the sport,” the statement added.

Women’s cricket has witnessed phenomenal growth at all levels across the globe. Therefore, there was talk of adopting more and more ‘gender neutral’ words to encourage women and girls to play cricket.

It is worth noting that many governing bodies and media organizations are already using the word ‘batter’. The MCC said, “In the last ‘redraft’ in 2017 after consultations with the International Cricket Council (ICC) and some important officials of women’s cricket, it was agreed that the term ‘batsman’ shall remain the same as per the Laws of the Game.”

According to it, “The words ‘Batter’ and ‘Batters’ in the changes announced today reflect the widest use in the cricketing world. The use of the word ‘batter’ is a natural progression, in line with the terms ‘ballers’ and ‘fielders’ in the rules.

Jamie Cox, Assistant Secretary (Cricket and Operations) at MCC, said, “MCC considers cricket to be a sport for all and this move recognizes the game’s transformation in modern times.”

He added, “The time is right to officially recognize this decision and we as custodians of the rules are happy to announce these changes.”