MCC announces gender-neutral term 'batter' to replace 'batsman' as Laws of Cricket are amended

MCC has announced that the gender-neutral terms "batter" and "batters" will replace "batsman" and "batsmen" after the Laws of Cricket were amended.

The changes - which are effective immediately - have been approved by the MCC Committee, a move which it says has been made in an effort to "reinforce cricket's status as an inclusive game for all".

The matter was previously addressed in 2017, but it was decided not to make a change at that point.

Jamie Cox, Assistant Secretary (Cricket and Operations) at MCC, said: "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."

The women's game has grown at all levels around the world since the 2017 redraft, which came into effect shortly after England won the World Cup on home soil.

In 2020, a record international crowd saw Australia defeat India in the T20 World Cup final in Melbourne, while earlier this year Lord's broke the record for a domestic women's match as 17,116 watched Oval Invincibles defeat Southern Brave in the final of the inaugural edition of The Hundred.

Alex Hartley, the 2017 Women's World Cup winner and Lancashire captain, responded to critics of the move.

On Twitter, she wrote "Some of the comments on this post make me angry. If you hate it, grow up. Cricket is a sport for everyone and this is a small but big move."

Responding to replies, Hartley also suggested use of the words 'nightwatcher' instead of 'nightwatchman' and 'third' or 'short third' in place of 'third man'.