[PICTURES] Is Australia reading from the same hymn sheet as India when it comes to not playing for political reasons?

[FearlessRoar]

Following Afghanistan's remarkable semi-final finish in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024, former members of the Afghanistan Women's Cricket team, now based in Australia, have penned a letter to the International Cricket Council requesting support in establishing a refugee cricket team. They have also requested that this letter be widely shared.

 

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During a media interaction, Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley:

"We hope for progress and will continue to discuss and maintain contact with the Afghanistan Cricket Board. They had a fantastic tournament with phenomenal players and played with great passion. Regarding our bilateral matches, we have consulted extensively with stakeholders, including the Australian government, and chose to postpone our last couple of series with Afghanistan on human rights grounds."

"We maintain a close relationship and regular dialogue with the Afghanistan Cricket Board and want to see cricket thrive worldwide for both men and women. We hope for progress and continue to discuss and maintain contact with the Afghanistan Cricket Board, aiming to resume bilateral cricket against Afghanistan in the future."

"We understand that the Afghanistan women based in Australia have written to the ICC. We have meetings coming up in Colombo in July, and I'm sure it will be a topic of conversation. The Afghan women in Australia are engaged with the cricketing community, but it's not something we were directly involved in."

 

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Temba Bavuma supports SACA's stand for women's rights in Afghanistan, he said ahead of his team's departure for the UAE for a white-ball series against Afghanistan:

"I look at it in my personal capacity. It's obviously something that is quite strong within my own values."

"I support the idea of inclusivity and caring for women. We want everyone to have a fair chance within society, and we know that that is something that is relevant to us as a country in South Africa. I'm fully behind the sentiments that are expressed by SACA."

"I think I've got to respect the fact that there are people in positions who have that responsibility to speak more eloquently and articulate a little bit more of it."

"In my own personal capacity, I definitely support the stance and the sentiments expressed by SACA. And I can understand where Rob as well is coming from in that we are selected to do a job in the cricketing field. And I think a lot of our energy will generally be dedicated to that at least."

 

[FearlessRoar]

Cricket Australia defends Afghanistan boycott after hypocrisy accusation​

Australia’s top cricket official has defended his country’s decision to play against Afghanistan at the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cups while cancelling all bilateral series against the South Asian side due to the Taliban’s crackdown on women’s sport.

Cricket Australia (CA) chairman Mike Baird said on Thursday he was “very proud of the position we’ve taken” after the departing boss of the ICC accused them of hypocrisy.

“We’ve taken a position, and we’re proudly standing up where we think we should,” Baird said.

“There’s all types of lines you can draw. We’ve drawn a line.”

Former ICC chairman Greg Barclay said Australia should have walked away from World Cup games against Afghanistan if they wanted to take a stand against the Taliban’s clampdown on women’s rights.

“If you want to make a political statement, don’t play them in a World Cup,” Barclay told the United Kingdom’s Daily Telegraph newspaper.

“Sure, it might cost you a semifinal place, but principles are principles. It’s not about having half a principle,” he added.

Australia have in recent years refused to play bilateral series against Afghanistan, citing discomfort at the ongoing Taliban’s policies on women’s participation in sport.

But they continue to face Afghanistan in major tournaments and have played them at both the ICC’s one-day international World Cup in November 2023 in India and the ICC T20 World Cup in the United States and the Caribbean in June.

CA indefinitely postponed a bilateral men’s T20 series against Afghanistan in March citing “deteriorating human rights for women and girls in the country under Taliban rule”.

The Afghanistan Cricket Board, in reply, urged CA to “respect and understand its position and look for alternative solutions rather than succumbing to external pressures and/or political influences”.

It was the third time since 2021 that Australia refused to play Afghanistan outside of international tournaments.

Australia had previously cancelled a one-off Test match and an ODI series for the same reason, but had then said it kept “the door ajar for future bilateral series on the proviso of improved conditions for women and girls in the country”.

Before the return of the Taliban, Afghanistan’s cricket board was slowly making progress in growing the game among women, contracting a small number of semi-professional players in 2020.

Many of those players eventually fled to Australia when the Taliban took over in 2021.

The teams’ last meeting came at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup on June 22 and ended in a historic triumph for Afghanistan as they beat the then-defending champions by 21 runs in the Super Eight clash.

The result prompted wild celebrations, both in the Afghanistan camp at the ground and among fans back home.

“We have waited for this moment for a long time – at last, we beat Australia,” Gulbadin Naib, Afghanistan’s hero with the ball in the match, exclaimed after the win.

Afghanistan had come close to beating Australia at the 50-over World Cup in India on November 7, only for Glenn Maxwell to pull off a stunning heist with a double century and deny the men in blue.

Australia went on to win the World Cup by beating India in the final on November 19.

The teams could come face-to-face in two months at the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, due to be hosted in Pakistan in February and March.

Cricket Australia defends Afghanistan boycott after hypocrisy accusation

Australian cricket chief ‘proud’ of decision to cancel bilateral series after outgoing ICC chair questions ‘principles’.

www.aljazeera.com

 

[FearlessRoar]

South Africa’s sports minister joins calls for Afghanistan cricket boycott​

South Africa’s Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie has given his support to calls for a boycott of Afghanistan at the ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan, adding his voice to those of British politicians who have called on England not to play the South Asian nation at the tournament next month.

“Cricket South Africa, the federations of other countries and the ICC (International Cricket Council) will have to think carefully about the message the sport of cricket wishes to send the world, and especially the women in sports,” he said in a statement on Thursday.

“It is not for me as the sports minister to make the final decision on whether South Africa should honour cricketing fixtures against Afghanistan. If it was my decision, then it certainly would not happen.”

England and South Africa share the same group with Afghanistan in the one-day international (ODI) competition and are under pressure to boycott the fixtures in response to the Taliban government’s crackdown on women’s rights since returning to power in August 2021.

South Africa are scheduled to open their Champions Trophy schedule against Afghanistan in Karachi on February 21 but McKenzie urged his country’s cricket governing body not to honour the fixture.

“As a man who comes from a race that was not allowed equal access to sporting opportunities during Apartheid, it would be hypocritical and immoral to look the other way today when the same is being done towards women anywhere in the world,” he added.

More than 160 British politicians have signed a cross-party letter to the England and Wales Cricket Board, calling for a boycott of England’s fixture against Afghanistan in Lahore on February 26.

ECB chief executive Richard Gould responded by calling for a uniform approach from all member nations towards Afghanistan’s participation in international cricket.

Australia are the other team scheduled to take on Afghanistan, in Lahore on February 28.

Cricket Australia indefinitely postponed a bilateral men’s Twenty 20 series against Afghanistan last March citing “deteriorating human rights for women and girls in the country under Taliban rule” but they did play them at the World Cup in India in late 2023 and at the T20 World Cup last June.

Cricket Australia chairman Mike Baird last month said he was “very proud of the position we’ve taken” after they were accused of hypocrisy.

“We’ve taken a position, and we’re proudly standing up where we think we should,” he said.

South Africa’s sports minister joins calls for Afghanistan cricket boycott

McKenzie urges his country’s cricket governing body not to honour the Champions Trophy fixture against Afghanistan.

www.aljazeera.com

 

[The Bald Eagle]

Cricket South Africa (CSA) can confirm receiving correspondence from British Member of Parliament Lord Peter Hain urging South Africa to boycott its fixture against Afghanistan at the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 Tournament scheduled to be staged in Pakistan in February

CSA finds the treatment and suppression of women’s rights in Afghanistan abhorrent and firmly believes that women’s cricket deserves equal recognition and resources, an area in which CSA’s record on women’s cricket in South Africa speaks for itself.

As the Champions Trophy is an ICC event, the position on Afghanistan must be guided by the world body in accordance with international tournament participation requirements and regulations.

CSA President Rihan Richards said, “We are of the view that a more unified and collective approach from all ICC members will be more impactful.

“CSA is committed and will continue to engage in constructive dialogue with the ICC and other members to find a solution that upholds Women’s cricket in Afghanistan and influence meaningful change in that country.”

Cricket South Africa

 

[Fenrir]

The Taliban regime has take away all rights of women.Afghanistan is the only country which has banned girls from getting education.The regime is in violation of basic human rights.Afghanistan should be treated like the apartheid regime of S Africa.Most countries cut sporting links with S Africa during apartheid era.

 

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Cricket-Afghan refugee cricketers in Australia to play first match since fleeing Taliban​

More than three years after fleeing Afghanistan as the Taliban swept to power, a women's team of refugee cricketers will play an exhibition match in Melbourne on Thursday, hoping it will be a first step on the path to full internationals.

Afghanistan is an established force in the men's game, having reached the semi-finals of last year's T20 World Cup co-hosted by the United States and West Indies.

But women's sport has been disbanded in the country since the Taliban takeover in August, 2021.

The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) had 25 contracted women players in 2020 but most now live in Australia in exile, with others settled in Canada and Britain.

Developing women's cricket in Afghanistan was no picnic before the Taliban, with miniscule funding, security concerns and conservative attitudes holding back its development.

But there were green shoots as girls' teams and tournaments sprung up in the provinces in the wake of the men's rise on the international stage.

The ACB made plans for the contracted women's players to head to the Middle East for their first international tour.

Kabul native Tuba Sangar, a former ACB staffer developing the women's programme, remembers the players showing off their new cricket bats and kits.

"It was an amazing moment for all of us," she told Reuters on Wednesday.

"Playing cricket in Afghanistan was not easy. But there really was a lot of hope that we could develop and compete internationally."

Months later, the players were dumping their cricket gear in a panic as the Taliban stormed Kabul.

One teenage player, Feroza Afghan, burned her kit and spent three months travelling overland with family members before crossing into Pakistan, having to negotiate more than a dozen internal checkpoints.

Sangar also left in a hurry with other female staff working at the ACB. She resettled in Canada via Kuwait and is now a community support worker for a non-profit in Ontario province.

Australia played a big role in helping the women's cricketers evacuate along with football players and other athletes.

The government issued humanitarian visas and arranged for them to board planes out of Kabul.

The sport's national federation Cricket Australia has facilitated Thursday's match at the Junction Oval in Melbourne which has the Afghanistan XI playing a team arranged by Cricket Without Borders, a non-profit supporting the women's game.

Captained by Nahida Sapan, it will be the first time the Afghan women have competed as a team since leaving the nation.

Though cricket's global governing body, the International Cricket Council, recognises Afghanistan as a full member and funds its cricket board, the exiled women remain unfunded.

The Australia-based cricketers play for local clubs.

Cricket Australia (CA) boss Nick Hockley said this week he hopes the Afghan women can play more games as a team and eventually represent the country on the international stage.

CA will not schedule international matches against the men's team, though, on moral grounds, citing "deteriorating human rights" for women and girls in Afghanistan.

The policy has drawn accusations of hypocrisy given Australia will play Afghanistan at World Cups and other major global tournaments when prestigious trophies are at stake.

CA's stance also leaves Sangar cold.

"I believe that cricket should not suffer for politics," she said.

"I don't believe that's the right decision.

"If you ask any Afghanistan woman how they got into cricket, they will say it was from watching the men and being inspired."

Reuters

 

[BouncerGuy]

Afghanistan Women Cricketers Reunite In First Game After Fleeing Taliban

Afghanistan's women cricketers on Thursday played their first game since fleeing the Taliban three years ago, a charity match in Australia that captain Nahida Sapan hoped would spark "a movement for change". Hundreds of women athletes fled Afghanistan as the Taliban took over in August 2021, escaping a hardline stance that essentially banned women's sport and education. Most of the national women's cricket side settled as refugees in Australia, where they reunited for the first time on Thursday to play a charity match in Melbourne.

"Together, we're building not just a team, we're building a movement for change and promise," Sapan said in the run-up to the game.

"We have big hopes for this match because this match can open doors for Afghan women, for education, sport and in the future."

The Afghanistan Cricket Board made a significant stride in November 2020 when it handed 25 promising women cricketers professional contracts.

But before the fledgling squad had a chance to play together, the Taliban captured capital Kabul and declared an end to women's cricket.

"We have sacrificed a lot to be here today," said cricketer Firooza Amiri after the match.

"The situation in Afghanistan is very terrible. Women don't have their rights.

"I can live freely in Australia and live my life the way I want.

"But back home in Afghanistan... I can only say it is very heartbreaking and very hard to live in that situation."

'Profound sadness'

Diana Barakzai, who helped found Afghanistan's first women's cricket programme almost 20 years ago, said Thursday's match was an "amazing moment".

"I'm sure it's a big message for the world, that the world will do something for Afghan women," she told AFP.

"Especially for opening the school doors, opening up work for women."

Of the 25 women once contracted by the Afghanistan Cricket Board, 22 are now settled in the Australian cities of Melbourne and Canberra.

Some of these players have lobbied the governing International Cricket Council in the hopes of forming a refugee team with some kind of official status.

"A profound sadness remains that we, as women, cannot represent our country like the male cricketers," some players wrote in a joint letter last year.

"The creation of this team will allow all Afghan women who want to represent their country to come together under one banner."

The council has so far ignored these calls.

Thursday's game was played at Melbourne's Junction Oval, a storied ground where a young Shane Warne once plied his trade.

The Afghan side played an invitational outfit representing Cricket Without Borders, a charity which aims to draw young women into the game.

Clad in cricket pads, helmets and blue shirts of a similar shade to the national men's side, the Afghan XI gathered for a brief team prayer before batting first.

After setting a target of 103 runs from 20 overs, they were pipped with just four balls to spare.

Shazia Zazai, the former Afghan national captain, top scored with 40 runs from 45 balls.

Governing body Cricket Australia threw its weight behind the match, pledging to "advocate" for the Afghan women's side at the highest levels.

"I'm just so proud of everyone across Australian cricket who's worked to support the players since they've been in Australia," chief executive Nick Hockley said earlier this week.

Citing human rights concerns, Australia has in recent years boycotted a series of non-tournament fixtures against the Afghanistan men's side.

NDTV