oppn parties Giving Women Batters Their Due, Belatedly

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  • Neha Bora was subsequently released and Dipke is to appear before a magistrate today at noon
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  • The Reserve Bank of India is considering further monetary tightening to counter capital outflows and increase the cost of betting against the rupee, according to bankers and analysts cited by Reuters. The measures follow recent rate increases and steps to drain liquidity as pressure on the currency and inflation concerns persist
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  • Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India's trade imbalance with China was growing sharply and attributed the problem partly to restrictions on Indian goods and services entering the Chinese market. China subsequently said it was ready to work with India to address mutual economic and trade concerns; India's trade deficit with China reached $69 billion in the first half of FY2026–27, up 27% year-on-year
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Delhi HC refuses to ban CJP's Tiranga rally at Central Park in Connaught Place today /////// Police says will control and regulate it /////// NDMC closes the park for the public on Friday and Saturday
oppn parties
Giving Women Batters Their Due, Belatedly

By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2021-09-25 07:52:15

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack

Although the first reported women's cricket match was played way back in 1745, the first known women's cricket club was formed in Yorkshire in England in 1887 and the first women's Test match was played between England and Australia in 1934, cricket commentators and writers kept on using gender-specific terms like 'batsman' and 'batswoman' for the player who was at the crease. Not anymore. MCC has now decided to use the term 'batter'. This is a welcome decision. Since 'cricketer', 'player', 'fielder', 'catcher', 'wicket-keeper' and even 'umpire' are all gender-neutral terms, why have batsman for the person who is batting in a game that is now inclusive? The MCC had made cricketing laws and bye-laws gender-neutral four years ago but had let 'batsman' remain for incomprehensible reasons. That anomaly has now been corrected.

Why is it necessary to change words used for centuries to gender-neutral terms? It is necessary as it is important to do away with the centuries-old biases. Using gender-specific terms for players divides the game and takes away the inclusivity. It also gives the impression that the game is for men. That is not true now. Women's cricket is equally competitive and widely followed. Hence, terms to describe the game must also change with time. Then, with society adopting gender-neutral terms in most other fields (spokesperson for spokesman, for example), cricket cannot remain isolated. In any case, using 'batter' for the one who is batting is much better than using batsman. On a lighter note, however, one wonders how commentators and writers will now refer to the fielding position 'third man'. Will it be 'third person' (sounds so crass) or will they coin a new term for it?

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