Maxine Blythin, a cricket player born as a man who now self-identifies as a woman, has been named the 2019 Kent Woman Cricketer of the Year in the UK despite making no apparent moves to permanently transition to a woman.

According to Kent Online:

Maxine Blythin was recognised as the 2019 Kent Women Player of the Year following her role in the team’s County Championship triumph. She had produced 340 runs and a best of 51 not out in 13 games across all formats, with 165 of those coming in Division 1 and 175 in T20 matches.

But Blythin’s participation on the Kent woman’s cricket team has raised controversy since the player’s debut because Blythin has not met the lower testosterone levels required for the British national cricket team.

As it happens, the local cricket leagues do not require men claiming to be women to meet testosterone levels nor do they have to have made any moves to transition from male to female. Indeed, all transgender players have to do is make the claim that they are women and they are allowed to play as women just on their say-so.

But Critics say that the six-foot-tall Blythin is just a man playing on the women’s team, and it isn’t fair.

Women’s sports advocacy group Fair Play For Women excoriated the Kent league for picking Blythin as the “woman” of the year. In a tweet, the group pointed out that Blythin has “No ‘transition’. Just self-ID and new pronouns. Sports women must speak up NOW.”

Male cricketer wins WOMEN OF THE YEAR. No 'transition'. Just self-ID and new pronouns. Sports women must speak up NOW. "Maxine Blythin was recognised as the 2019 Kent Women Player of the Year following her role in the team's County Championship triumph". https://t.co/BjiMg5Hgjo — FairPlayForWomen (@fairplaywomen) November 4, 2019

Last month, the group also blasted the English Cricket Board (ECB) for its loose policies.

“Letting males who self-identify as women play in women’s competitions is demonstrably unfair,” said the group’s director, Dr Nicola Williams.

“The ECB knows males have a performance advantage over females. This is why it lets women use lighter and smaller cricket balls and why boundaries are set closer,” Williams added.

People laugh when we say one day women's teams will only consist of just male 'women'. None of those female women will get a look in when the teams get selected. Women will be on the bench watching their own sport played by second-rate males. — FairPlayForWomen (@fairplaywomen) November 4, 2019

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