- Danielle McGahey has applied for the Big Bash
- The 30-year-old was born male and has represented the Canadian women’s national team.
- He has been banned from playing by the ICC, but can still play in Australia.
Transgender cricketer Danielle McGahey has applied for next weekend’s Women’s Big Bash League draft.
McGahey, 30, made history in 2023 after becoming the first transgender person to play international women’s cricket when she represented Canada in six Twenty20 World Cup qualifiers in Los Angeles.
But the Brisbane-born cricketer’s international career came to a halt after the ICC introduced a ban prohibiting players who had gone through any form of male puberty from playing women’s international cricket.
The 30-year-old was born male and medically transitioned three years ago.
However, Cricket Australia has not followed the international governing body’s guidelines on the issue, meaning McGahey and other transgender women are allowed to play in senior women’s domestic competitions.
The Women’s Big Bash League is a Cricket Australia competition, so McGahey, who has a batting average of 19.66 at international level, is eligible to play in the T20 tournament.
“With the ICC’s decision to ban trans women at international level, it was really interesting to see the response from a lot of franchise leagues,” McGahey told News Corp.
‘Australia was one of the countries that came out and said, ‘No, we believe trans women should play in women’s cricket and we would welcome a trans woman in the WBBL.’
Danielle McGahey has applied for the Women’s Big Bash League draft
The transgender cricketer was banned by the ICC last year from international cricket.
‘At the time, did I think about nominating myself? No, not really. Last year was a rollercoaster of emotions, personal attacks and I spent a lot of time just recovering.
‘Then I dove headfirst into cricket this year with Cricket Brazil and I got to the point where I thought, ‘You know what, if Cricket Australia is on board, then I want to make sure people know that cricket is still a safe space for queer and transgender people.’
McGahey is considered a long shot to be selected, but insists that being selected is not her primary goal.
‘Whether or not I am selected based on my nomination is not really relevant to the bigger picture.
“It’s more about seeing that cricket remains a safe space and that people should be able to enjoy cricket, no matter where they come from, who they are or anything like that.”
McGahey revealed that the international ban hurt her a lot.
‘When I was playing in LA, there was self-harm, there was a lot of dangerous thoughts because of the comments, the attention and everything I was getting.
She says that selection in the contest is not her main goal.
“It wasn’t like, ‘Oh, she’s making her debut.’ It was hurtful, damaging and intentional.
‘And after September, I took a few months off and basically isolated myself in Canada for a while.
‘Luckily, I have my wonderful wife who supported me through everything.
“And honestly, without her I wouldn’t be where I am today in terms of being able to mentally put my name back in the ring because that’s kind of what I’m doing with my nomination.
‘What I’m saying is that I haven’t left, that I’m still playing and that I still want to play at the highest level.’