Trans woman told she’s not allowed to play cricket for fun

A trans amateur cricketer says she is “heartbroken” after being abruptly kicked out of her local club by England’s cricketing regulator.

Trans woman Lily was reportedly told by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) that she was no longer allowed to participate in the amateur cricketing club, which plays the sport entirely for fun, following updates to their inclusion policies.

The cricketing regulator rushed through a blanket ban on trans women playing women’s cricket in May last year after the Supreme Court ruled the definition of a woman in the Equality Act referred to “biological sex” only.

The hobbyist, whose name has been changed to protect her anonymity, said she was then immediately barred from the local club, where she had served as captain, coached junior teams, and won several awards.

“When I heard the news, I was completely heartbroken – as were my friends, teammates, and opponents,” she told Good Law Project. “It was so upsetting to be ripped away from playing for the team I’d been part of for so long.”

Lily said her fellow club members became concerned after she suddenly stopped playing in the middle of a non-competitive season, given that she wasn’t ill and had regularly attended matches for several years without issue.

Before she had a moment to cope with the news, Lily says she was forced to consider outing herself to her concerned teammates, some of whom don’t know she is transgender.

“Coming out is always a risk, and it felt like I was being forced to come out to people I hadn’t felt the need to previously. It made me feel guilty and ashamed even though I hadn’t done anything wrong.”

Regulators across the globe have begun implementing trans-exclusionary policies as a result of misinformation which claims that trans women have an inherent competitive advantage against cisgender women in sports, which they do not.

While most apply to non-amateur groups, this is one of the first public cases where a trans woman has been ejected from a non-competitive sporting group over a sports regulator’s trans-exclusive policies.

Good Law Project has vowed to sue the ECB on behalf of Lily for discrimination under the 2010 Equality Act, arguing that excluding them is a “stain on women’s sport”.

Several players within ECB clubs have spoken out against the regulator’s ban. A source which is ‘heavily involved’ in women’s cricket told Good Law Project that the “overwhelming majority” did not have an issue with playing against a trans woman.

“They’re sad the ruling happened,” the source says. “I feel like the women’s game is worse as a result.”

Club organisers themselves haven’t forced trans competitors to step down, though several trans players have done so to avoid personal scrutiny or to avoid legal issues.

Good Law Project is calling on members of the UK public to email the ECB urging officials to scrap its ban on trans athletes. So far, over 1,700 emails have been sent through Good Law Project’s submission page.

“A ban doesn’t just risk isolating trans people – it risks outing them. How are they supposed to explain to their teams why they suddenly can’t play,” a spokesperson says. “Trans people shouldn’t be at risk just because they want to play sport with their friends.”

Share your story! Do you have an important, exciting or uplifting story to tell? Email us at [email protected]