The communication sent to all Clubs is as follows:
Dear Club Official
You may have seen an important announcement last week, released by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), that issued an update on the regulations regarding the eligibility of transgender players in women’s and girls’ cricket. This change to the regulations has been applied as a consequence of the updated legal position following the recent Supreme Court ruling.
We wanted to share the ECB’s announcement with all Clubs within our network to make you all aware of the changes, and whilst we fully appreciate that this will of course impact on transgender women and girls playing within the game, we want to underline our position that Middlesex in the Community remains committed to ensuring that cricket is a game for everyone.
We encourage all our Clubs to continue to offer a welcoming and inclusive environment to all, and whilst this impacts on players playing within the leagues affiliated to Middlesex in the Community (listed below), playing opportunities in open and mixed cricket will remain in place for transgender women and girls.
The leagues in Middlesex these rule changes apply to are:
There are organisations and charities that can offer specialist and expert advice and support on this matter to Clubs and individuals, so we would urge you to contact them should you have any questions:
Should clubs or individuals wish to raise anything with the ECB following this announcement then please e-mail [email protected]
Please see the ECB’s statement in full below, which was released on Friday 2nd May 2025:
ECB UPDATE ON TRANSGENDER PARTICIPATION IN WOMEN’S CRICKET
The ECB is today announcing a change to its regulations regarding eligibility for transgender players in women’s and girls’ cricket. This is based on the updated legal position following the recent Supreme Court ruling.
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.
Our regulations for recreational cricket have always aimed at ensuring that cricket remains as inclusive a sport as possible. These included measures to manage disparities, irrespective of someone’s gender, and safeguard the enjoyment of all players. However, given the new advice received about the impact of the Supreme Court ruling, we believe the changes announced today are necessary.
We acknowledge that this decision will have a significant impact on transgender women and girls. We will work with Recreational Cricket Boards to support people impacted by this change in our regulations.
We await updated guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and will study this carefully.
We maintain that abuse or discrimination has no place in our sport and are committed to ensuring that cricket is played in a spirit of respect and inclusivity.
