Danielle McGahey: Transgender cricketer set to play in women's T20 international for Canada

Transgender cricketer Danielle McGahey is acceptable marque her T20 planetary debut connected 4 September successful Los Angeles

Canada's Danielle McGahey is acceptable to go the archetypal transgender cricketer to play successful an authoritative T20 international.

The 29-year-old opening batter has fulfilled each of the eligibility criteria the International Cricket Council (ICC) has for male-to-female transgender players earlier the lawsuit successful Los Angeles from 4-11 September.

McGahey's information comes contempt different sports - including athletics, cycling, swimming and some codes of rugby - banning transgender women from taking part successful elite women's competition.

The Women's Rights Network (WRN) - a radical which says it seeks to "defend the sex-based rights of women" - said transgender women had a "significant advantage" implicit athletes whose enactment is recorded arsenic pistillate astatine birth, and called the ICC's argumentation "unfair and unsafe".

McGahey emigrated from Australia to Canada successful February 2020, socially transitioned to a pistillate successful November 2020 and started medically transitioning successful May 2021.

McGahey told BBC Sport: "I americium perfectly honoured. To beryllium capable to correspond my assemblage is thing I ne'er dreamed I would beryllium capable to do."

What is the ICC's stance connected transgender women?

The ICC's subordinate eligibility regulations released successful 2018 (and amended successful 2021) authorities trans women wishing to play women's planetary cricket indispensable show "the attraction of testosterone successful her serum has been little than 5 nmol/L1 continuously for a play of astatine slightest 12 months, and that she is ready, consenting and capable to proceed to support it beneath that level for truthful agelong arsenic she continues to compete".

The ICC besides states a male-to-female trans subordinate indispensable "provide a written and signed declaration, successful a signifier of satisfactory to the designated aesculapian officer, that her sex individuality is female".

McGahey said: "In bid to find [my testosterone levels], I've been doing humor tests each period present for implicit 2 years. I besides person to enactment successful my subordinate illustration who I person played against and however galore runs I've scored.

"A batch of enactment with my doc sending my aesculapian accusation done to the ICC... they person a dedicated aesculapian serviceman who looks implicit each of the accusation provided, and determines whether oregon not I person provided capable for an adept sheet to marque a decision.

"The request to bash humor tests each period is astir apt the biggest situation due to the fact that erstwhile you are playing cricket you are travelling a lot.

"It's precise idiosyncratic successful presumption of the accusation you are giving implicit - each your aesculapian information, past of puberty, immoderate surgeries. There's a batch successful it. But the protocols are determination and it has been utilized arsenic intended."

The WRN's Jane Sullivan believes sporting categories should beryllium kept abstracted connected the ground of enactment recorded astatine birth, and criticised the ICC for its eligibility criteria.

Sullivan told BBC Sport: "There are presently 17 peer-reviewed studies that amusement we cannot mitigate against antheral puberty erstwhile it comes to sporting performance.

"On average, men - nevertheless they place - person bigger musculus mass, larger skeletons, bigger lung capacity, much fast-twitch muscles. It's been proven that adjacent 14-year-old boys tin beryllium faster and stronger than world-class pistillate athletes.

"Any cricket squad that has an idiosyncratic who has been done antheral puberty already has an unfair vantage implicit an all-female side.

"As an organisation, we don't privation to spot anyone banned from athletics - it's for everyone. But women's athletics indispensable beryllium just - and harmless - for the women taking part."

In accordance with Cricket Canada's regulations for home competitions, McGahey has been capable to enactment successful the country's women's inter-provincial tourney based solely connected sex self-identification.

Her performances with the bat brought her to the attraction of the nationalist team's selectors and she played 4 planetary T20 matches successful October 2022 astatine the South American Championships, wherever Canada were invited to instrumentality portion arsenic guests.

Those fixtures did not clasp authoritative T20 planetary presumption truthful she was escaped to play arsenic a transgender pistillate without the request to fulfil immoderate ICC criteria.

"Within 5 months of playing my archetypal crippled with the women successful Canada, I was successful Brazil," McGahey said.

"The committee was each implicit it - 'So OK, who is this?' - and we benignant of went from there. I fundamentally got told 2 weeks earlier that I was going to beryllium going to Brazil and representing Canada.

"Obviously I felt a immense consciousness of pride. Not lone for what I'm doing, but for my [trans] community. Being capable to correspond them."

McGahey's spot successful Canada's squad for the ICC T20 World Cup qualifying tourney was confirmed connected 27 August.

An ICC connection said: "We tin corroborate that Danielle went done the process arsenic required nether the ICC's subordinate eligibility regulations and arsenic a effect has been deemed eligible to enactment successful planetary women's cricket connected the ground that she satisfies the MTF transgender eligibility criteria."

A spokesperson for Cricket Canada said: "Danielle's enactment was based connected ICC's subordinate eligibility regulations for male-to-female transgender players.

"Danielle sent done her exertion to the ICC and Cricket Canada followed the process arsenic per the ICC rules, which made Danielle's enactment to the Canadian squad possible."

'Treated similar immoderate different player'

McGahey is acceptable to marque her afloat T20 planetary debut for Canada against Brazil connected the opening time of the four-team ICC Americas Qualifying tournament, which besides features hosts USA and Argentina.

The winners of the lawsuit successful California volition advancement to the Global Qualifier for the 10-team women's T20 World Cup, wherever they volition look Ireland and Sri Lanka positive the starring teams from the Asia, East Asia-Pacific, Europe and Africa regions.

Brazil's women, who are each full-time professionals contracted by Cricket Brasil, played against McGahey and her team-mates successful Rio de Janeiro past year.

Brazil skipper Roberta Moretti Avery said McGahey's beingness connected Canada's squad had been discussed successful the lead-up to this tournament, but she would beryllium "treated conscionable similar immoderate different player" erstwhile she plays astatine Woodley Park successful Los Angeles.

Avery said: "In cricket we tin lone play what the rulemakers springiness us, and abide by the existent rules. I don't deliberation the regularisation is perfect, but that is not the responsibility of immoderate idiosyncratic player.

"I deliberation we are going to spot a batch of however Dani volition impact the crippled going forward. We don't cognize what that is going to beryllium like. The existent situation, I think, is fair."

Gemma Witcomb - an world adept connected the contented of sex individuality successful athletics astatine Loughborough University - said fairness successful athletics "is not solely down to physiology" and the humanities pre-eminence of men's cricket compared to the women's crippled plays a part.

"Trans women whitethorn reap the rewards of the greater concern successful their aboriginal cricketing careers and person immoderate advantages related to these earlier experiences," she said.

"For example, much opportunities some astatine schoolhouse and recreationally, to learn, play, and hone their skills; amended funded and equipped clubs; much invested coaches etc.

"Such factors - related to accidental - are good accepted to power each men's and women's experiences and outcomes successful athletics and truthful ignoring these would contradict their importance."

McGahey, who was calved successful Australia, played men's nine cricket successful Melbourne and joined a section men's squad - Cavaliers CC - successful Regina, Saskatchewan aft moving to Canada and anterior to transitioning.

"I came down to 1 league and the play was fundamentally over," McGahey said.

"But the adjacent twelvemonth came astir and I had the itch. I reached retired and said: 'Hey, you saw maine erstwhile past year. I look a small spot antithetic now, I spell by Danielle.'

"I was hoping no-one remembered me, but they each did. It was really, truly nerve-wracking."

McGahey said she had not encountered immoderate animosity from either team-mates oregon opponents since she started playing women's cricket.

"I can't callback a azygous antagonistic experience, peculiarly connected the tract oregon disconnected the tract with my team. Everyone has been incredibly supportive," McGahey said.

"I'm precise unfastened astir my transitioning and for maine it is each astir inspiring the adjacent and the next, and going from there."

Avery felt determination were "no issues" successful presumption of information for the fielding squad with McGahey's batting, and the player's part-time off-spin bowling is improbable to beryllium called upon by Canada skipper Divya Saxena.

Avery did admit it could beryllium much hard if a trans pistillate who had been done antheral puberty bowled importantly faster than emblematic speeds successful women's cricket.

According to Cricviz, the mean speeds of balls delivered by seam bowlers successful women's T20Is from the play 2019-2023 inclusive was 64.4mph compared to 80.5mph for men.

Avery said: "I deliberation erstwhile you commencement talking bowlers, and idiosyncratic bowling astatine 135 oregon 140km/h [83 oregon 86mph], oregon thing we don't person successful women's cricket astatine this infinitesimal successful time, the speech whitethorn beryllium different.

"I don't deliberation we person immoderate examples of transgender women that vessel similar that close now. But I bash judge the satellite is changing."

The ICC does see broader criteria for transgender cricketers successful narration to information connected the tract play.

The regulations authorities the governing assemblage wants to "encourage and facilitate specified participation" from transgender cricketers provided they "protect the information of each participants" and "deliver connected the committedness of just and meaningful contention offered by the part of the athletics into antheral and pistillate categories".

'The world is cricket faces a choice...'

Canada, wherever one successful each 300 people implicit the property of 15 are transgender oregon non-binary, has already had 1 high-profile transgender jock successful the spotlight this year.

Canadian footballer Quinn precocious became the first transgender subordinate to enactment successful a Fifa World Cup.

Quinn came retired arsenic non-binary successful September 2020 and was permitted to play successful accordance with Fifa's existing regulations, which find information connected the ground of enactment assigned astatine commencement alternatively than sex identity.

Fifa is taking guidance from legal, technological and quality rights experts arsenic portion of a reappraisal of its sex eligibility regulations for transgender athletes.

Other sports person been definitive with their stance connected male-to-female transgender athletes participating successful the women's category, with arguments centred astir fairness of competition:

• 9 October 2020: World Rugby banned transgender women astatine the elite and planetary level of the women's game.
• 20 June 2022: Fina, swimming's satellite governing body, voted to prohibition transgender athletes from competing successful women's elite races.
• 21 June 2022: International Rugby League banned transgender women portion it does further probe connected its inclusion policy.
• 23 March 2023: World Athletics banned transgender women from competing successful the women's class astatine planetary events.
• 15 July 2023: World cycling's governing assemblage UCI banned transgender women from competing successful women's events.

The ICC's regulations travel the model connected transgender athletes acceptable retired by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which authorities determination should beryllium nary presumption that a transgender jock automatically has an unfair vantage successful women's sporting events.

Tommy Lundberg - adjunct elder lecturer astatine the Karolinska Institute successful Stockholm, who has undertaken world probe into the interaction of testosterone simplification told BBC Sport: "In November 2021, the IOC did a 180-degree crook and present prioritises inclusion. I deliberation it's a precise mediocre framework.

"Since then, however, respective sports specified arsenic swimming, cycling and athletics person gone successful the absorption that World Rugby has gone in, and prioritised fairness."

Lundberg besides addressed the ICC's criteria concerning eligibility, adding: "Many sports present bash distant with testosterone eligibility criteria, knowing from probe that adjacent suppressing testosterone to the pistillate people of 1 nmol/L does not destruct the antheral advantage.

"So cricket faces the world that they person to take betwixt fairness and inclusion, due to the fact that they cannot person some astatine the aforesaid time."

The WRN believes the ICC's determination to let transgender women to enactment shows they "haven't woken up" to however "unfair and damaging their policies are for girls coming into the sport" contempt admirable efforts to turn the crippled among women.

Sullivan added: "A increasing fig of sports are protecting the pistillate category. Will parents look astatine the options and steer their girls distant from sports, similar cricket, that don't look to attraction astir fairness and information for their pistillate players?

"Cricket could suffer its grassroots with policies similar this. And if you don't person the grassroots, you don't get the region players feeding done to the nationalist teams."

• Transgender athletes: What bash the scientists say? BBC Sport spoke to 2 with opposing views

'I've been playing a agelong time…'

Six years aft the ICC established its criteria for the inclusion of transgender players successful cricket, McGahey is poised to marque her competitory debut.

And she is consenting to respond to claims she has an vantage implicit her team-mates and opponents successful women's planetary cricket.

She believes immoderate powerfulness oregon timing she has portion batting person been honed from years of playing the crippled alternatively than the physiological benefits from antheral puberty.

"I tin lone talk astir my journey. But the perceived spot vantage that trans women person is precisely that - it's perceived," McGahey said.

"I've been playing cricket for 25 years. I cognize if I'd conscionable picked up a bat past week, I wouldn't beryllium capable to deed the shot similar I deed the ball."

According to Cricviz, the mean region of sixes deed by men successful T20Is successful the past 5 years is 80.2 metres and 69.74m for women.

McGahey could beryllium banned successful aboriginal if the ICC was to marque a U-turn connected its eligibility criteria and travel the precedents acceptable by different sports with transgender women.

"What the ICC person done incredibly well, truthful far, is they person their argumentation and they person stuck by it and aligned it with the IOC," McGahey said.

"If cricket were to alteration it that would person an interaction connected maine personally, but besides connected the adjacent subordinate and the subordinate aft that."

McGahey's household successful her autochthonal Australia, meanwhile, are mostly unaware of her beingness arsenic a trans pistillate since she moved to Canada.

"The past connection I had with them was October 2021," McGahey added.

"I knew [my feelings] from a precise young age, but my household was the large crushed I didn't travel retired astatine a precise young age. I knew their stance beauteous early.

"The household that I person present is the household I've built; I tin beryllium blessed with the radical I person astir me. They enactment maine and backmost maine each the way.

"Canada is precise progressive. Obviously the archetypal portion of modulation is challenging, but erstwhile I started to person assurance successful who I was beingness became beauteous successful casual successful the consciousness I could conscionable beryllium who I am.

"I haven't truly had immoderate backlash from anyone, adjacent publically for conscionable expressing who I am. I went done assemblage for a year, truly unfastened astir who I am, and present cricket. So it's been a truly bully journey."

Danielle McGahey, beforehand enactment centre, with her Canada team-mates successful Rio de Janeiro successful October 2022