‘I hate batter’: England legend rails against cricket’s gender-neutral terms
By Jeremy Wilson
Jonathan Agnew, the BBC’s departing chief cricket correspondent, has complained about the game’s adoption of the gender-neutral term “batter” and references to the Ashes as the “men’s Ashes”.
Agnew, who has just signed a four-year contract to remain part of the BBC’s Test Match Special team, announced earlier this month that after 33 years he will step down from his role as cricket correspondent at the end of the English summer.
In an interview with The Sunday Times, the 64-year-old alluded to some frustrations.
“I hate ‘batter’,” he said. “I always call a woman batsman a ‘batter’. But why can’t a man playing a man’s game be a batsman?”
Marylebone Cricket Club, the guardian of the game’s rules, replaced the term “batsman” with the gender-neutral “batter” in 2021, saying cricket was “a game for all and this move recognises the changing landscape of the game in modern times”.
The terminology has been adopted in the media, including at the BBC.
Jonathan Agnew interviewing Pat Cummins during last year’s men’s Ashes clash at the Oval.Credit: Getty
“I just think it’s sad,” Agnew said. “Inclusivity’s great, but come on!”
Agnew also spoke about the 142-year history of the men’s Ashes contests between England and Australia. There has been a women’s Ashes trophy since 1998, following on from a name that first emerged after the 1882-83 series between England and Australia.
“That doesn’t mean to say that the Ashes has to be the ‘men’s Ashes’,” said Agnew, before asking if that was old-fashioned and if he would look like a dinosaur. “People will call me an old fart, I suppose … It’s an event. It happened. It’s not the ‘Men’s Battle of Hastings’, is it?”
In discussing his departure later this year as cricket correspondent, Agnew also referenced the pressure of the job and “turning back from school runs, abandoning shopping trolleys in Tesco” and his love of Test cricket over Twenty20.
Ellyse Perry is congratulated after taking a wicket during last year’s women’s Ashes clash at the Oval.Credit: Getty
“I can’t get excited by somebody’s move from the Delhi Daredevils to the wot-sit,” he said. “If people are brought up thinking that that is what cricket is, that’s a real shame. The game has clearly changed a lot.”
In announcing his decision to stay on at TMS until at least 2028, but leave the correspondent’s job, Agnew said earlier this month: “I am really delighted that I shall continue to present Test Match Special for the next four years. It is a unique program of which I am immensely proud, and means so much to so many people.
“However, this does seem the right time for me to step back from my role as BBC cricket correspondent. This summer, my 34th in the post, will be my last. In a quickly changing cricket landscape it is time for fresh legs to cover the daily duties, leaving me to focus entirely on TMS.”
England bowler Kate Cross has claimed the term batsman could be off-putting to girls. “It is just a word, of course. But it is a word which could potentially put a young girl off the sport because she feels like the door isn’t open for her,” she told The Cricketer.
“It, most likely, will not affect a young boy being called a ‘batter’, but it might affect a young girl being called a ‘batsman’.
“I grew up playing cricket in a boys’ team and I can tell you, the only thing I ever wanted was to feel accepted, and not stand out like a sore thumb because I was the only player with a ponytail sticking out of my cap.”
The Telegraph, London
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