The Chief Executive of Cricket Australia, James Sutherland, has said that the policy regarding the pregnant women cricketers is in contention and will be discussed in the next round Memorandum of Understanding talks with the Australian Cricketers Association (ACA).

He added that the Board does not prevent any pregnant cricketer from signing a contract but stressed that its the safety issues that are to be considered during the meeting.

The Australia’s Sex Discrimination Act of 1984 states that it is unlawful to ask whether a woman is pregnant or not, still they have to reveal whether they are in which stage whilst signing a contract.

“The critical thing here is that it’s a health and safety issue,” Sutherland said on Friday (December 16). “So it’s understood that a woman can declare herself pregnant, but the extension of that is we know they have taken medical advice, so if they continue to play then everyone’s aware and we can secure their safety.

“That doesn’t mean the woman cannot sign the contract. We need them to declare that they can continue to play, adhering to medical advice. All we’re saying is they need to say they are so that everyone understands. They can take their own advice on continuing to play from a medical professional, but also so that our medical staff are aware so we can support them in that situation. That’s the intention – it’s not to stop a pregnant woman from playing.

“There are different stages of pregnancy, it’s a matter of disclosure and understanding and then working with the individual to make choices along the way and being offered that support. We haven’t had someone say they’re pregnant at the time of signing. We have had someone fall pregnant in their contract period, and they decided at a certain point that they wouldn’t continue to play, and we paid out their contract for the remainder of the period,” he added.

The matter is set to be discussed at the next meeting but Board still stresses on keeping the security of the player at priority.