Cricket Australia today unveiled a new policy framework it hopes will affirm the rights of transgender and gender diverse players at all levels of the sport.
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In a statement, the organisation said the new Elite Cricket Policy offers “transgender and gender diverse cricketers guidance on how they can compete at the highest levels of the sport” in line with their gender identity.
“A Player will be eligible to participate in the category of Elite Cricket consistent with their Gender Identity, whether or not this accords with the Sex they were assigned at birth in line with this clause,” the policy states.
It looks like a pretty comprehensive document, which Cricket Australia states was modelled after the International Cricket Council’s own guidelines.
It acknowledges how differences in “strength, stamina and physique” can impact competition, and states transgender and gender diverse players who participate in the highest echelons of women’s cricket should establish they have blood testosterone levels of under 10 nanomoles per litre.
While figures vary drastically from person to person, most adult cisgendered women can expect blood testosterone levels between 0.3 and 2.4 nmol/L.
As pointed out by The Sydney Morning Herald, the documents differ from the AFL’s contentious guidelines regarding transgender and gender diverse players, with the latter requiring relevant players to hold lower testosterone levels before competing in AFLW; even then, there are more performance and ability tests players must pass.
The new Guidelines for Community Cricket will provide a framework for players and administrators to build safe, inclusive, and competitive clubs across the country, Cricket Australia said.
Big Bash League side the Sydney Sixers has already praised the move.
“It is a watershed moment to have this policy at the elite level, and a very positive step towards ensuring we have inclusion at all levels of Australian cricket,” Sixers General Manager Jodie Hawkins said.
You can check out the professional guidelines here, and the grassroots policies here.
If you’d like to talk about the issues raised in this story, you can call the QLife LGBTI peer support hotline on 1800 184 527 or chat online.
QLife operates between between 3pm and midnight daily.
Under 25? You can reach Kids Helpline at 1800 55 1800 or chat online.
