ESPNCricinfo Takes Gender-Neutral Path With Terminology Changes

One of cricket’s leading websites will be using gender-neutral terms in their coverage of the sport.

One of the most popular cricket website ESPNCricinfo have taken a step towards gender neutrality, beginning Thursday, 15 April.

The website will be using gender-neutral terms in their coverage of cricket matches across the board.

Starting today, @ESPNcricinfo takes one more step towards embracing gender neutrality.

On the site, and in our coverage, the term 'batsman' will be 'batter' from now on, 'Man of the Match' will be 'Player of the Match.'

We hope more organisations join us in normalising it.

— Sreshth Shah (@sreshthx) April 14, 2021

ESPNCricinfo will now replace the term batsman with batter and Man of the Match will also be called the Player of the Match on their website.

Good stuff, Sreshth!

Can we also differentiate mens and Women’s ODIs/T20Is clearly. Currently, ODIs refer to Men’s ODIs.

— Yash Lahoti (@YvLahoti) April 15, 2021

This is good. Also high time we stopped calling cricket a gentleman's game. https://t.co/rY8GfJxtO1

— Rahul Roushan (@rahulroushan) April 15, 2021

The move was announced on social media by one of their writers Sreshth Shah.

Also, I guess, Cricinfo must change the way of calling men's ODIs as ODIs and women's as "women's" ODIs in stat pages. That's a major thing to be changed too.

— Krithika (@krithika0808) April 15, 2021

The move was welcomed by the cricket fraternity on social media with some asking them to differentiate between men’s ODIs/T20Is and women’s ODIs/T20Is as well. One of the most common mistakes in cricket coverage has been not differentiating both.

This is important.
Have lost count of the amount of times I have changed 'man' to 'player' in copies.
If the prominent spaces start doing this, it will lead to some change. https://t.co/IuhhKW9IfI

— ZENIA D'CUNHA (@ZENIADCUNHA) April 15, 2021

This came to the forefront once again when Prasidh Krishna made his ODI debut against England in Pune, returning with the best figures for a bowler on debut for India in the men’s game.

*Best figures on debut for an Indian man... Purnima Choudhary took 5/21 vs WI in 1997.

— Yash Jha (@jhayash) March 23, 2021

Krishna registered figures of 4/54, which was being celebrated as the best figures on debut by an Indian, but social media was quick to point out that it is in fact Purnima Choudhary with figures of 5/21 against West Indies in 1997 who held the record.