According to Cricket Canada’s regulations for domestic events, McGahey was allowed admittance to the country’s women’s inter-provincial tournament based only on gender self-identification. Her batting skills drew the attention of the national team’s selectors, and in October 2022, when Canada was invited as a guest team to the South American Championships, she took part in four international T20 matches there. The matches lacked formal T20 international classification, therefore she could participate as a transgender woman without having to follow any ICC rules. Now, the cricketer has opened up about playing in women’s T20 matches. Scroll down to read, Transgender Cricketer McGahey Opens Up About Playing In T20.
McGahey will make her complete T20 international debut for Canada. The match will be against Brazil on the first day of the four-team ICC Americas Qualifying competition. It also includes the hosts USA and Argentina.
The top teams from Asia, East Asia-Pacific, Europe, and Africa will compete in the Global Qualifier for the 10-team women’s T20 World Cup, where the event’s champions will advance. They will also face Ireland and Sri Lanka there.
In Rio de Janeiro last year, Cricket Brasil’s full-time professional ladies from Brazil competed against McGahey and her teammates.
McGahey’s inclusion on Canada’s team had been questioned before the competition. According to Brazil’s captain Roberta Moretti Avery, she was “treated just like any other player” when she competed in Woodley Park in Los Angeles.
According to Avery, cricket players must follow the rules as they are now written. She said, “I don’t believe the regulation is flawless, no one player is to blame for it. I believe that Dani will have a significant impact on the game in the future. What that will be like is unknown to us. I believe the existing circumstances are fair.”
Gemma Witcomb, a professor at Loughborough University and a specialist on the subject of gender identity in sport said, “Fairness in sport is not solely down to physiology. And that the historical dominance of men’s cricket over the women’s game also plays a role. Trans women may benefit from the greater investment made in their early cricketing careers and possess some advantages related to these earlier experiences.”
She continued, “For instance, more learning, playing, and skill-building opportunities both at school and during leisure time; clubs that are better funded and equipped; coaches who are more committed; etc.”
It is widely acknowledged that these opportunity-related elements affect all men’s and women’s experiences and results in sports, therefore to ignore them would be to minimize their significance.
Transgender Cricketer McGahey Opens Up About Playing In WT20
Born in Australia, McGahey played men’s club cricket in Melbourne before relocating to Canada and signing up with the Cavaliers CC in Regina, Saskatchewan, before transitioning. The season was essentially gone when she had one practice left. McGahey said, “When the next year rolled around, I felt the itch. Hey, you saw me once last year, I remarked as I stretched out to you. I now go by Danielle, and I have a somewhat different appearance. I had hoped that no one would recall me, but they all did. It made me feel anxious.”
Since she began playing women’s cricket, McGahey claimed that neither her teammates nor her rivals had ever shown her any hatred. She stated, “I don’t remember having any bad experiences, either with my squad or off the pitch. Everyone has been so incredibly helpful. I’m quite forthcoming about my transition, and for me, it all comes down to setting an example for the following generation and moving on from there.”
Avery said that McGahey’s hitting presented “no issues” in terms of safety for the fielding squad, and Canada captain Divya Saxena is unlikely to use the player’s occasional off-spin bowling. Avery acknowledged that it may be more challenging if a trans woman bowled substantially quicker than usual in women’s cricket since she had experienced male puberty.
The average speed of balls bowled by seam bowlers in women’s T20Is from 2019 to 2023, inclusive, was 64.4 mph as opposed to 80.5 mph for men, according to Cricviz.
“I think the conversation may be different when you start talking bowlers, and someone bowling at 135 or 140km/h [83 or 86mph], or something we don’t currently have in women’s cricket. We don’t currently know of any transsexual ladies that bowl like that, in my opinion. However, I do think that the world is altering,” added Avery.
ICC Rules For Transgender
In terms of safety during play, the ICC does incorporate greater standards for transgender cricket players.
By the rules, transgender cricket players are allowed to play as long as they “protect the safety of all participants” and “deliver on the promise of fair and meaningful competition offered by the division of the sport into male and female categories,” as stated in the regulations.
In Canada, where one in every 300 adults over the age of 15 identifies as transgender or non-binary, this year has already seen one prominent transgender athlete. Quinn, a Canadian football player, just made history by being the first transgender athlete to compete in the Fifa World Cup. Quinn came out as non-binary in September 2020, and Fifa’s current rules—which assess participation based on sex given at birth rather than gender identity—allowed her to play.
Fifa is reviewing its rules on gender eligibility for transgender athletes and is seeking advice from legal, scientific, and human rights experts.
With concerns focusing on the fairness of competition, some sports have taken a firm position against male-to-female transgender athletes competing in the women’s division.
Also read, Transgender cricketer Danielle McGahey to play in WT20
