Alex Hartley Speaks Out After BBC Commentator's ‘Period’ Comment During Ashes

BBC cricket commentator Alex Hartley has spoken out on the reaction she received after referencing her period during live coverage of the Ashes.

Hartley, a former Lancashire and England spin bowler and winner of the 2017 Women's World Cup, has worked on BBC's Test Match Special before and since retiring as a player in 2023.

She is in Australia as part of TMS' coverage of the 2025/26 Ashes series, alongside the likes of Phil Tufnell, Jonathan Agnew, Glenn McGrath and Isa Guha.

The 32-year-old does not shy away from any topic on commentary, shown when she claimed that some of the England women's players - all of whom she had played with or against - were 'letting the team down when it comes to fitness' during the 2024 T20 World Cup.

And during the third Ashes Test in Adelaide, Hartley's comments received reaction again when she referenced periods during a commentary stint.

She told co-commentator Daniel Norcross at the beginning of day three: "I'm feeling more optimistic [today].

"I must admit, yesterday I was very grumpy. Disclaimer - I had just come on my period, so I think that might explain it. That might explain my mood yesterday.

When Norcross pointed out that former England spinner Tufnell had also been 'grumpy', Hartley replied: "We've all spent enough time together - maybe we've all synced up."

The comments brought about significant reaction online, with some supporting Hartley over her comments while others were less complimentary.

On the 'No Balls' podcast, which she presents alongside her former Lancashire team-mate and England bowler Kate Cross, Hartley spoke out for the first time about the online reaction she received.

Hartley said: "I have talked about being on my period many, many, many times on TMS. And the cricket must have been so boring that people decided to write about it. It's utterly nuts.

"What I do want to say is I have no problem in talking about this sort of thing, because I think it should be normalised. How it is not normalised?

"If a young girl is listening to the radio and hears that I'm on my period, they should go, 'Oh, it's totally normal for people to talk about it'. It shouldn't be taboo. Everyone gets their period.

"All I said was, 'I am on my period'.

"On the flip side, I had 4,000 DMs from people saying thanks for talking about it. Loads of girl dads, loads of mums, teenagers, loads of men. It wasn't all bad."

Cross said: "I woke up, I see what's gone on, and that morning, my entire news feed was about you being on your period.

"It blew my mind that anyone had taken the time of the day to write about that. That that became the headline.

"How dare you talk and mention it and say it's affected the mood you've been in, tongue-in-cheek because the cricket wasn't going very well for England?"

Hartley added: "In that situation, he [Dan Norcross] went, 'Oh, okay', carried on with the cricket chat, he cracked a joke. It was funny.

"The newspapers were like, 'Dan Norcross reacts poorly', or 'Alex Hartley shocks TMS viewers'. Dan was not shocked. Dan is the most open-minded man I've ever met."