The England men’s team have donated £20,000 to support the exiled Afghanistan women’s side.
The money has been paid from the Team England Player Partnership (TEPP) fund to Marylebone Cricket Club’s (MCC) global refugee cricket fund, which hopes to raise £1 million.
Women’s sport has been outlawed in Afghanistan as part of a human rights assault by the Taliban regime, and the country’s leading female players have been forced to flee.
There was significant political pressure placed on England to forfeit their Champions Trophy fixture against Afghanistan last month but the England and Wales Cricket Board resisted, instead lobbying behind the scenes for a collective international response.
Now the players’ group has made its own move.
Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton discuss whether England should be playing Afghanistan in the ICC Champions Trophy. Jos Buttler also gives his view on the situation.
Daryl Mitchell, chair of the Professional Cricketers’ Association and a TEPP board member, said: “Having spent time in Pakistan with the England team during the Champions Trophy, it was apparent that the wider squad wanted to offer their support having been made aware of the Global Refugee Cricket Fund.
“The MCC and MCC Foundation should be applauded for the creation of the initiative, and I am sure the donation from the players will support its goal to use cricket to bring a smile to the faces of those who have been displaced across the world.”
What is the background?
The Afghanistan women’s cricket team fled the country in 2021 after the Taliban regained power, and most of them sought refuge in Australia. But for over three years, they say they’ve been ignored and sidelined by the International Cricket Council (ICC) despite making multiple pleas for help.
The men’s team was still allowed to compete during this time, despite the country not having a women’s team – something that is not allowed under ICC law – and have seemingly received no punishment.
The Afghanistan women’s cricket team fled the country in 2021 after the Taliban regained power, with most of the team finding refuge in Australia.
Earlier this year, a group of more than 160 politicians, including Nigel Farage, Jeremy Corbyn, and Lord Kinnock, signed a letter encouraging England to boycott their Champions Trophy match against Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer called for the ICC to “deliver their own rules”, while the Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said the match “should go ahead” so as not to penalise the England team, but suggested that British dignitaries should snub the event.
The England and Wales Cricket Board chief executive Richard Gould told Sky Sports News last month a boycott of the Afghanistan fixture would be counter-productive.
“I think if you end up boycotting a game, the Taliban won’t care. Half the Taliban don’t want cricket at all being played in Afghanistan, so that doesn’t help the Afghani people, and that’s where our priorities are,” Gould said.
Richard Gould believes England boycotting their Champions Trophy game against Afghanistan would be ‘counterproductive’ in aiding their priority of helping the people of the country.
“This has been a difficult decision, because when we see the gender apartheid that’s taking place in Afghanistan under the Taliban organisation, it’s disgusting.
“It’s not something that we want to be associated with, or anybody does, in terms of taking the sport forward.
“We need to make sure that the ICC takes action, because we need to make sure that as a sport, as a global sport, that we are sending the appropriate messages.”
In January, Afghanistan’s exiled women’s cricketers represented their country for the first time since the Taliban reclaimed control, featuring in a historic exhibition match against Cricket Without Borders (CWOB).
