An Afghanistan women’s team will play a match in Australia (Photo by AREF KARIMI/AFP via Getty … [+]
Australia has strengthened its support for Afghanistan women’s cricket, but one of the sport’s thorniest issues remains in limbo.
It was announced recently that an Afghanistan women’s team, consisting of refugees who moved to Australia, will play a match in Melbourne in January. It will be the first time an Afghanistan’s women’s cricket team has taken to the field since the Taliban’s bloody takeover in 2021.
Fearing their safety, women cricketers sought refuge overseas with most of the team fleeing to Australia. It effectively ended the fledgling development of women’s cricket in the war-torn country.
The developments have polarized the International Cricket Council’s board – where the power lies in the sport – and a working group was set up in late 2021, tasked with investigating the situation in Afghanistan.
The ICC has been increasingly under pressure to act and the situation heightened recently when members of the Afghanistan women’s cricket team issued a plea to re-form as a refugee side based in Australia.
After Afghanistan avoided ICC sanctions last year, the working group was set to be disbanded only to remain intact due to Australia and England taking human rights stances.
Women’s cricket in Afghanistan has effectively stopped since the Taliban’s takeover (Photo by AREF … [+]
Australia has publicly demonstrated its commitment by hosting a T20 match between an Afghanistan women’s XI and a Cricket Without Borders XI on January 30 ahead of the women’s Ashes Test at the MCG.
“Many people across cricket and the community have come together to provide support for members of the Afghanistan women’s team since their relocation to Australia and this match will be a celebration of that work,” Cricket Australia chief executive Nick Hockley said.
“I’m delighted that their ambition to play together will be achieved in this exhibition match which will be a wonderful addition to the many events around the day-night women’s Ashes Test.”
Cricket Australia chief Nick Hockley has helped set up the Afghanistan match (Photo by Morgan … [+]
But this show of support is unlikely to move the needle at ICC board level. It is learnt that the issue remains at a stalemate despite pleas earlier in the year from the women refugees asking for assistance in setting up a team in Australia.
As I reported in July, a push to set aside a percentage of Afghanistan revenue to fund women’s cricket failed to materialize.
The Afghanistan Cricket Board receives about $17 million annually as part of the ICC’s revenue distribution model.
But it was learned that the high cost of Afghanistan’s men’s team was cited as a primary reason why funds couldn’t be deducted from the ACB’s distribution. Afghanistan do not play cricket at home due to security issues and have been mostly based in the UAE and India.
The inaction from the ICC board was a blow for Afghanistan’s women refugees, who finally through all this heartbreak will momentarily rediscover the pride of representing their country on the cricket field.
