Danielle McGahey was to become the first transgender cricketer to play official international cricket.
She was included in Canada's squad for a qualifying tournament on the pathway to the 2024 Women's T20 World Cup in Bangladesh.
The 29-year-old opening batter has fulfilled all of the eligibility criteria set by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for male-to-female transgender players before the event in Los Angeles from 4-11 September.
McGahey was participating in the competition despite other sports, such as athletics, cycling, swimming, and both codes of rugby, banning transgender women from competing in elite women's events.
The Women's Rights Network (WRN), a group that aims to defend the sex-based rights of women, argues that transgender women have a significant advantage over athletes who are recorded as female at birth.
The WRN considers the ICC's policy to be unfair and unsafe.
McGahey migrated from Australia to Canada in February 2020, transitioned to a woman in November 2020, and began medical transition in May 2021.
What is the ICC's position on transgender women?
The ICC's regulations for player eligibility, released in 2018 and amended in 2021, state that trans women who wish to play women's international cricket must demonstrate that the concentration of testosterone in their serum has been less than 5 nmol/L1 continuously for at least 12 months. They must also show that they are ready, willing, and able to continue to keep it below that level for as long as they continue to compete.
The ICC requires male-to-female transgender players to provide a written and signed declaration, in a form satisfactory to the designated medical officer, confirming their gender identity as female.
McGahey has been monitoring her testosterone levels through monthly blood tests for over two years. Additionally, she must include in her player profile the details of her opponents and her runs scored.
My doctor has sent my medical information to the ICC. They have a dedicated medical officer who reviews the information and determines if it is sufficient for an expert panel to make a decision.
The biggest challenge is the need for monthly blood tests, especially when travelling for cricket.
McGahey was eligible to play in the country's women's inter-provincial tournament solely based on gender self-identification, under Cricket Canada's domestic competition rules.
Her batting performances caught the attention of the national team's selectors, and she played four international T20 matches in October 2022 at the South American Championships, where Canada was invited to participate as a a guest.
As the fixtures did not hold official T20 international status, she was free to play as a transgender woman without needing to fulfil any ICC criteria.
To be treated like any other player
McGahey will make her full T20 international debut for Canada against Brazil on the opening day of the four-team ICC Americas Qualifier. The tournament also features hosts USA and Argentina.
The winners of the Californian event will progress to the Global Qualifier for the 10-team Women's T20 World Cup, where they will meet Ireland and Sri Lanka, as well as the leading teams from Asia, East Asia-Pacific, Europe and Africa regions.
Brazil's women, all full-time professionals contracted by Cricket Brasil, played against McGahey and her teammates in Rio de Janeiro last year.
According to Brazil captain Roberta Moretti Avery, McGahey's presence on Canada's team had been discussed before this tournament. However, she will be treated like any other player when she plays at Woodley Park in Los Angeles.
The ICC has established criteria for transgender cricketers to ensure safety during play.
The regulations aim to encourage and facilitate participation from transgender cricketers while protecting the safety of all participants and maintaining fair and meaningful competition between male and female categories.
Cricket has a choice to make
In Canada, approximately one in every 300 individuals over the age of 15 identifies as transgender or non-binary.
This year, Canadian footballer Quinn made headlines as the first transgender player to participate in a Fifa World Cup.
In September 2020, Quinn publicly identified as non-binary and was allowed to play followingFifa's existing regulations, which determine participation based on sex assigned at birth rather than gender identity.
Fifa is currently reviewing its gender eligibility regulations for transgender athletes with guidance from legal, scientific, and human rights experts.
Other sports have taken a definitive stance on male-to-female transgender athletes participating in the women's category, citing concerns about the fairness of competition.
- On 9 October 2020, World Rugby banned transgender women from participating at the elite and international level of the women's game.
- On 20 June 2022, Fina, the world governing body for swimming, voted to prohibit transgender athletes from participating in elite women's races.
- On 21 June 2022, the International Rugby League banned transgender women while conducting further research on its inclusion policy.
- On 23 March 2023, World Athletics banned transgender women from competing in the women's category at international events.
- On 15 July 2023, the UCI, the governing body for world cycling, banned transgender women from participating in women's events.
The regulations of the ICC follow the framework on transgender athletes established by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). According to the IOC, there should be no assumption that a transgender athlete automatically has an unfair advantage in women's sporting events.
Tommy Lundberg, an assistant senior lecturer at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm who has conducted academic research into the impact of testosterone reduction, stated to BBC Sport: In November 2021, the IOC reversed its stance and now places a higher priority on inclusion. I believe this framework is inadequate.
Playing for a long time…
Six years after the ICC established its criteria for the inclusion of transgender players in cricket, McGahey is ready to make her competitive debut.
She is willing to address claims that she has an advantage over her teammates and opponents in women's international cricket.
She believes that any power or timing she has while batting has been honed from years of playing the game, rather than from any physiological benefits resulting from male puberty.
According to Cricviz, men in T20Is hit sixes with an average distance of 80.2 meters in the past five years, while women hit them with an average distance of 69.74m.
If the ICC were to follow the precedents set by other sports with transgender women, McGahey could face a ban in the future due to a potential U-turn on eligibility criteria.
Retirement following ICC ruling
Danielle McGahey, who is known for being the first transgender cricketer to play at the international level, announced her retirement. This came after the International Cricket Council (ICC) ruled that any player who had gone through male puberty would not be eligible to compete in the women's game at the elite level.
In an Instagram post, McGahey expressed her personal opinion on the ICC's decision but acknowledged that it was final.
"Following the ICC’s decision this morning, it is with a very heavy heart that I must say that my international cricketing career is over. As quickly as it has begun, it must now end. Thank you so much to everybody who has supported me in my journey, from all of my teammates, all of the opposition, the cricketing community and my sponsor @willowleathercricket."