Maia Bouchier aims to inspire and pave way for future LGBTQ+ cricketers

24-year-old Maia Bouchier is one of the most promising talents in the cricketing world at the moment. She is deemed to be the next big thing in England cricket but her journey to the top wasn’t an easy one. Maia stated that even though her family was quite supportive when she came out, but her schoolmates weren’t positive and bullied her. 

Sharing her experience, Maia stated that her friends with the same sexual orientation had to leave school because of the bully and the teachers too couldn’t do much about it. She explained that cricket rescued her from a difficult past and when she joined England’s developmental side, she was welcomed and embraced by all. Maia also thanked her Southern Brave team-mate Rhianna Southby for helping her process and come to terms with her identity.

“It's crazy to think that cricket has made such an incredible difference. Especially in the England development side, people from across the country were pushed together, but we all embraced everyone. There was no judgement on where you came from or who you were with,” Maia was quoted as saying by BBC.

“I've known her (Rhianna Southby) for years, and she was one of the first people who talked to me about being gay back when we were 13/14. That was one of the conversations that stuck in my head because I remember it being so easy to talk to her about it. I'm so happy to be where I am. I'm so happy to be a part of a family. Cricket is a family,” she added.

We want to make people aware that it's completely normal: Maia

The youngster feels that the discussions regarding being gay need to stop as it is completely normal for individuals to have different sexual orientations. She wants everyone to talk about it openly and express the way everyone feel about themselves.

“The fact that we have to (come out) is crazy. We shouldn't have to come out like this. We shouldn't have to talk about it as if it's a barrier because it's not. You are the way you are, and no one can change it. We want to make people aware that it's completely normal. That's how it should be. We need to talk about it. We have to keep making sure people feel like they can really be themselves,” Maia mentioned.