Cricket laws amended: Gender-neutral term ‘batter’ to be used instead of ‘batsman’ by MCC

Sept. 25: Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) on Wednesday announced that the gender-neutral term “batter” will replace “batsman” with immediate effect, in a bid to reinforce cricket’s status as an inclusive game. These changes have been approved by the MCC Committee, following initial discussion by the club’s specialist Laws sub-committee.

Women’s cricket has enjoyed unprecedented growth at all levels around the world and there had been calls to adopt more gender neutral terms to encourage women and girls to play the game. The changes are effective immediately and updates have been made to the Laws of Cricket published at lords.org/laws. A number of Governing Bodies and media organisations are already using the term “batter” in their Playing Conditions and reporting. The MCC expects and encourages others to adopt the updated terminology following Wednesday’s announcement of the change to the Laws.