Transgender women have been barred from competing in all levels of women's cricket with immediate effect, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) confirmed. The ruling comes after the English Football Association (FA) on Thursday said that transgender women will no longer be able to participate in women's football in England from June 1.

Following a UK Supreme Court ruling on April 15, which said that the legal definition of a woman is based on biological sex, the ECB said that "only those whose biological sex is female" will be able to participate in women's and girls' cricket. Transgender women and girls can continue to play in open and mixed cricket categories, stripping back new regulations in the game that were introduced in 2024.

An ECB statement read: "The ECB is today announcing a change to its regulations regarding eligibility for transgender players in women’s and girls’ cricket. This is based on the updated legal position following the recent Supreme Court ruling.

"With immediate effect, only those whose biological sex is female will be eligible to play in women’s cricket and girls’ cricket matches. Transgender women and girls can continue playing in open and mixed cricket.

"Our regulations for recreational cricket have always aimed at ensuring that cricket remains as inclusive a sport as possible. These included measures to manage disparities, irrespective of someone’s gender, and safeguard the enjoyment of all players. However, given the new advice received about the impact of the Supreme Court ruling, we believe the changes announced today are necessary.

"We acknowledge that this decision will have a significant impact on transgender women and girls. We will work with Recreational Cricket Boards to support people impacted by this change in our regulations. We await updated guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and will study this carefully.

"We maintain that abuse or discrimination has no place in our sport and are committed to ensuring that cricket is played in a spirit of respect and inclusivity."

Supreme Court judges unanimously decided last month that the definition of "woman" and "sex" under the Equality Act 2020 refers to "a biological woman and biological sex".

Just last year, new policy regulations were introduced by the ECB stipulating that any player who had gone through male puberty was not able to compete in the top two tiers of the women's game. Transgender women were able to compete in the third tier or below, however.

The FA became sport's first major governing body to alter their transgender eligibility criteria following the Supreme Court ruling, followed by England Netball, in a blanket ban also introduced in athletics and rugby.