Transgender Canadian international cricketer

[Talipesmum]

There’s a long article on bbc news about a transgender cricketer (from Canada) about to play in women’s international T20 cricket. It’s a pretty good article. It’s not leading with the angle of criticising her, but it’s also not leading with how wonderful it is. It describes what is happening, mentions how this is in contrast to what many other sports are doing, follows that up with a good explanation of why those sports are doing that. It includes lots of quotes all round including from hee, but I think gives a pretty clear picture for readers, and sets them up to know what to look out for. And for anyone at all familiar with the topic there’s a lot clear but unsaid. Imagine there will be more on this later. Feels very different to an article we might have had a year ago.

Danielle McGahey: Transgender cricketer set to play in women's T20 international for Canada https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/66597000

That is indeed not the article the BBC would have published a year ago.

The general air of 'this hasn't been banned yet' is most heartening.

Also the picture is very helpful.

The ICC also states a male-to-female trans player must "provide a written and signed declaration, in a form of satisfactory to the designated medical officer, that her gender identity is female".

Oh, if it’s written and signed, it must be really serious and genuine then 🙄.

I read that article too and thought it was balanced too, Talipe. There was much more discussion about inclusion versus fairness. I thought the comments from the Brazil captain were interesting, highlighting that her reaction might be different if Danielle were a fast bowler.

There was also an interesting stat about the number of people identifying as non binary or transgender in Canada (1 in 300 of people aged 15 plus) in the light of the warning from Global Affairs Canada about visiting the USA.

Good to see Women's Rights Network giving input to this article.

Very clear article, isn’t it?

”Within five months of playing my first game with the women in Canada, I was in Brazil," McGahey said.

"The board was all over it - 'So OK, who is this?' - and we kind of went from there. I basically got told two weeks before that I was going to be going to Brazil and representing Canada.”

FFS - a huge 29 yr old male with 25 years playing experience (mostly as a male) playing on a smaller field, with a lighter ball.

What is even more annoying is that there wasn’t even a women’s cricket league in Alberta until some girls asked to set one up in 2013. Didn’t take long for blokes to muscle in, did it?

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/womens-cricket-alberta-sports-1.6909427

Anyone who watches male /female cricket can see the difference in pace between the two games. No doubt “she’ll “ come along and break all the records.

McGahey in action.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4ruyuMKNItE

That’s an impressively balanced article, especially for the BBC.

I’m glad of the photo. In women’s sport, it’s sometimes difficult to predict the sex of the transitioner.

Why is the person in the picture using a plank to hit the ball? Have cricket bats changed?

It certainly is a very revealing picture.
I didn't know the women's game used a smaller field as well as a lighter ball but in that case I think spectators would be well advised to stay well back when the person is batting.

Avery felt there were "no issues" in terms of safety for the fielding team with McGahey's batting, and the player's part-time off-spin bowling is unlikely to be called upon by Canada captain Divya Saxena.
Avery did acknowledge it could be more difficult if a trans woman who had been through male puberty bowled significantly faster than typical speeds in women's cricket.

So basically McGahey isn't very good so it's okay to join a women's team.

McGahey is primarily a batsman, rather than a bowler (think the article says they can be a spin bowler, so speed of the ball is much less of an issue).

Why is the person in the picture using a plank to hit the ball? Have cricket bats changed?

Large tall players need a bigger, heavier long handled bat than the average sized woman.

That team picture at the end of the BBC article. The male front and centre (duh) and all hunkered down so as to be lower than the women on the front row.

Oh okay i know nothing about cricket.

While it's a really balanced article on the whole, I really loathe the focus on how accepting women are and how they don't treat mcgahey any differently to anyone else.

So much focus on women being kind. And pretending we don't notice that men who say they are women are actually men.

My daughter is a junior county cricketer. She plays with girls who are amazing and on pathways to being professionals in events like the 100. If the ICC doesn't step up careers of girls will be blighted.

Failed at athletics & swimming so has picked cricket? The amount of skill required to play cricket at top level is immense unless you can out power others.

This is a disgrace and it makes me really sad.

I watched quite a few women's cricket games over the summer, and marvelled at their skill and athleticism. Thought there was no way any of that transgender shit would muscle in on cricket... and here we are. 😡

I bet the poor woman whose place on the team this man took isn't happy. The rest of the team should worry too, seeing as all it takes is a signature and a few injections to turn a man into a woman. 🙄

In the video of the playing season, it's clear that mcgahey is absolutely huge

I’m glad the article is balanced and not the gushing mindless celebration we would have got from the bbc a few years ago. But just seeing that smug photo makes me so angry. I’m so sick of this. A woman has missed out on a place in the team. Other women have to play alongside this male and be put under the stress of joining in the performance that it’s all fine, even if it makes them uncomfortable or scared. And yet more women have to play opposite this team who now have an unfair disadvantage. Especially in cricket! Running speed and the strength to hit a 6 are going to feature in this person’s rapid rise and success.

The fact that this isn’t happening the other way round - females taking top places in male sports by just announcing they’re men - lays the unfairness out for all to see. It’s the most blatant unfairness you can imagine and it’s obviously sex-based. I just can’t get my head around how anyone can think it’s OK. 😡

advantage sorry. Opposing teams will have a disadvantage.

My family member is a cricket coach for a county men's team. He also coaches younger mixed teams. He said there is no way an adult male should be playing with females, ever - it's an extremely unfair advantage for all the usual reasons - strength, speed etc.

a clap for Timothy Abraham for the balanced writing including data. May women’s sport become ever more fair and safe for women.

I would love to see McGahey's figures for his last year in Men's cricket. After all, if trans women obtain no competitive advantage over us biological types from having gone through male puberty, then the stats should be broadly similar, no....?

Yes I noticed that too.

Exactly my thought too, but I’m quite surprised there was one showing McGahey with women, even scrunched down. There was a great Twitter thread a while ago about the poor lonely athletes who just want to compete, very amusingly/engagingly illustrated with photos of them alone, gazing mournfully into the distance. The woman who compiled it had found some brilliant shots and her commentary was spot on.

The ICC really needs to come up to speed with so many other sports and ban trans ‘women’ from women’s teams.
Last week I went to the cricket Hundred at Headingley and saw first the women’s match then immediately following it the men’s match. They are different matches, both entertaining, but the men run faster, field faster and hit the ball harder (more boundaries and 4s scored) than the women. The Hundred format is the worst kind of cricket the ICC could have allowed trans ‘women’ to play in the the women’s team. It’s more athletic than, say, test matches, so all the physical advantages men have really come to the fore.
This cricketer is a cheating man.
And he has taken a place on the team which should have gone to a woman.
Canada seems to be captured, am very sad about that.