With the rise of women’s sports and the growing advocacy of gender-inclusive terminology, MCC has decided to change “batsmen to batters”. This change signifies that people of other various genders or identities can also find space in the laws of cricket. The recently concluded The Hundred also employed a similar terminology to make the game more gender-inclusive.
The term batsmen have been used for hundreds of years and it is only recently that women’s game has found some viewership. The last year’s Women’s T20 World Cup Final became the first women’s cricket game to be attended by more than 80,000 spectators.
Jamie Cox (MCC’s Assistant Secretary)
MCC believes in cricket being a game for all and this move recognises the changing landscape of the game in modern times. Use of the term 'batter' is a natural evolution in our shared cricketing language and the terminology has already been adopted by many of those involved in the sport. It is the right time for this adjustment to be recognised formally and we are delighted, as the Guardians of the Laws, to announce these changes today.
