Time to update your cricket dictionary; laws of the game are now gender-neutral

Next time around you see a cricketer taking guard at the crease to bat or standing at the non-striker's end, do not call him a batsman. Instead, call him a batter. 

This is among the slew of new amendments introduced by the Marylebone Cricket Club to the Laws of Cricket to make the sport more gender-neutral.

For the uninitiated, Marylebone Cricket Club is the sole authority on the laws of cricket since it was founded in 1787.

Asserting that the move recognises the changing landscape of the game in modern times, Jamie Cox, assistant secretary for cricket and operations at the MCC said that cricket is a game for all.

Cox further said that the term 'batter' is a natural evolution in the shared cricket terminology and that it had already been adopted by many of those involved in the sport. 

Observing that women's cricket had enjoyed unprecedented growth at all levels around the world in the same period, the MCC reiterated that the shift to the usage of the term 'batter' is a natural progression that aligns with other terms like bowlers and fielders which are already a part of the cricketing laws. 

The MCC announced that the changes in the law were effective immediately.

Many followers of the game were quick to point out that there were other cricketing terms 'Chinaman', 'duck', 'flat-track bully' and 'Nelson'.

To this, the MCC, hours later, issued a clarification that terms like ‘third man’, ‘nightwatchman’, ‘12th Man’ and the ones mentioned above are not included in the cricket laws, and hence changes to such terms are outside of MCC's control as Guardians of the Laws.

Also See: Neeraj Chopra pays a visit to Abhinav Bindra, receives a cute gift from fellow gold-medalist 

• Guardians of the Laws
• MCC
• Marylebone Cricket Club
• batsmen
• batter
• cricket
• gender-neutral
• laws
• women's cricket