
The ICC Board has given the green light to updated gender eligibility regulations for international women’s cricket following a comprehensive 9-month consultation with key stakeholders in the sport. Emphasizing the protection of the integrity of the women’s game, safety, fairness, and inclusion, the new policy stipulates that individuals who have undergone any form of male puberty, regardless of surgical or gender reassignment treatment, will not be eligible to participate in the international women’s game.
The review process, spearheaded by the ICC Medical Advisory Committee under the leadership of Dr. Peter Harcourt, exclusively addresses gender eligibility in international women’s cricket. At the domestic level, each Member Board retains autonomy, subject to potential influence by local legislation. These regulations will undergo a thorough review within a two-year timeframe.
ICC Chief Executive Geoff Allardice remarked, “The changes to the gender eligibility regulations resulted from an extensive consultation process and are founded in science, aligned with the core principles developed during the review. Inclusivity is incredibly important to us as a sport, but our priority was to protect the integrity of the international women’s game and the safety of players.”
The Chief Executives’ Committee (CEC) has also endorsed a plan to expedite the progress of female match officials. This plan includes equalizing match day pay for ICC umpires across men’s and women’s cricket, with the additional provision of having one neutral umpire in every ICC Women’s Championship series starting from January 2024.