9 hours ago
MCC axes plans for trans women to enter female broadcaster competition
Marylebone Cricket Club has scrapped a plan to allow anyone who identifies as female to enter its young female broadcaster of the year competition.
MCC, in partnership with Sky Sports and Take Her Lead, a women's cricket charity, has announced the return of the competition, which hopes to 'uncover the next generation of female broadcasting talent'.
According to the website, those applying must be 'females between the age of 18-24', although until Wednesday, it had stated that 'anyone identifying as female' could apply.
The winner of the competition will take part in the Sky Sports Cricket coverage of The Hundred Final at Lord's, MCC's home, in August.
A judging panel made up of broadcasters and representatives of the MCC and Sky Sports, chaired by Isa Guha on behalf of Take Her Lead, will select the winner.
MCC said the initiative was aiming 'to increase opportunities for young women looking to forge a career in the cricket media, specifically in broadcasting'.
Applications must include a showreel of the candidate presenting, which could be match commentary, a match report, a video blog or an interview. Five shortlisted runners-up will then be invited to Lord's for England Women's One-Day International against India on July 19.
It is understood that legacy copy from last year's competition was used for the application page, wrongly suggesting that trans people could take part. This has now been updated to reflect the Supreme Court ruling in April this year that the legal definition of a woman is based on biological sex.
A Government spokesman welcomed the Supreme Court ruling for bringing 'clarity and confidence for women, and services such as hospitals, refuges, and sports clubs'.
Katie Maier, the chief marketing and communications officer at MCC, said: 'MCC is committed to improving opportunities for females at all levels and areas of the game and we hope this campaign has opened up opportunities for more young females, who we know are still under-represented in the industry.'
The England and Wales Cricket Board banned transgender women from playing women's cricket at all levels in May.
It said: 'With immediate effect, only those whose biological sex is female will be eligible to play in women's cricket and girls' cricket matches. Transgender women and girls can continue playing in open and mixed cricket.'
MCC voted to allow women to join the club in 1998 after more than two centuries of being an all-male club. As of May this year, less than three per cent of its 18,350 members were women, but there was a 77 per cent increase in women applying to qualify as player members last year.
In 2021, MCC officially amended the laws of the game to remove the word batsman and replace it with the gender-neutral term 'batter'.
