Afghanistan cricket: Women's team remain hopeful after making history at exhibition match in Australia
The Afghanistan women's cricket team represented their country for the first time in three years at Melbourne, playing against Cricket Without Borders; cricketers said they have 'made history' and hope to be a mouthpiece for women in Afghanistan; team to benefit from new MCC refugee fund
Friday 31 January 2025 12:20, UK
The Afghanistan women's cricket team remain hopeful about their future after receiving an outpouring of support at their exhibition match against Cricket Without Borders.
The exiled cricketers represented their country for the first time in over three years at a historic fixture at the Junction Oval but the occasion was about more than just cricket.
It signified resilience, community and most importantly, the transformative power of sport.
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"Everyone knows what we want and that is to keep playing sport," said Benafsha Hashimi, one of the exiled cricketers.
"This is just the first step for us and we're making history. We hope that women in Afghanistan see this.
"Despite people not supporting us, we have still grown and it's because we have other women here supporting each other."
Further backing has now arrived from the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), the owner of Lord's, with the Afghanistan team to be the first recipients of support from the MCC Foundation's newly-announced Global Refugee Cricket Fund, which has been established to help displaced communities and is hoping to raise an initial £1m.
The initiative's initial focus will be to raise money for Pitch Our Future, which supports the Afghanistan women's team. The MCC says that funding sources will include contributions from the ECB, corporate sponsorship, government grants, other international cricket boards and individual donations, in addition to itself.
"The cricket community must take action, to support the brave Afghan women, and to give hope that cricket can be a sport for any woman or girl," said Clare Connor, the deputy chief executive of the ECB.
"We hope the launch of the Fund will inspire other cricketing organisations to support this cause, and to unlock cricket's power to unite communities around the globe."
The historic match in pictures
For Afghanistan, this fixture had always been about more than just the result. It was about reclaiming their sporting dreams despite the terrifying restrictions placed on their lives by the Taliban.
"I hope this game and the opportunity we have in Australia will be a powerful message for Afghanistan women back home," said Afghanistan all-rounder Tooba Khan Sarwari.
"They are not alone, we are trying to raise our voices and speak on behalf of them.
"We want to talk about our situation and tell the world about what is going on in Afghanistan. We hope this sends a powerful message."
Sarwari and Hashimi are among a group of 25 players who received the first professional contracts for women from the Afghanistan Cricket Board in 2020.
However, only a year later their dreams would turn into a nightmare after the Taliban banned women from sports, forcing the cricketers to flee for their safety, with some of them having to burn their kits to avoid being identified.
The cricketers first fled to Pakistan before being granted emergency visas for Australia. Some settled in Melbourne and others in Canberra, playing under pseudonyms for their protection.
Now, after three years, the group were able to come back together to play for the first time, competing in their new cricket shirts, designed by Hashimi, with a tulip, the national flower of Afghanistan, and cricket ball on the front.
The shirt did not feature the country's flag or its colours.
In the match, Afghanistan were pipped by the CWOB side with just four balls left after scoring 103 runs from 20 overs.
"Today we're celebrating many things," said Samantha Mostyn, the governor general of Australia.
"Cricket is such a wonderful sport for women and girls but today is very special for these two teams to be celebrating the Afghan women's team, who have spent over three years coming to this point where they can play on one of Melbourne's most significant grounds.
"These are women who are making sure cricket is fun and inclusive and that everyone belongs.
"We're celebrating the fact that these Afghan women feel safe and peaceful here in Australia through their sport and Cricket Without Borders teaches us about that."
'Playing cricket is a human right'
More recently there has been growing pressure on the ICC to support the Afghanistan women's team, with calls for England and South Africa to boycott their upcoming Champions Trophy matches against the men's side next month.
The men's side have been allowed to compete in ICC competitions whereas the women's side have not only been denied the opportunity but forced to seek refuge in another country to protect themselves.
"Playing cricket is well and good but it's about the fact that we're supporting something so important," said CWOB's bowler Maddy Tobias.
The Afghan women have the right to be able to play. It's a human right to play cricket and sport and to do something you love.
"It's awesome we're able to do this but supporting them is so much more important."
Jones: Cricket community has rallied round
Former Australia batter and Sky Sports pundit Mel Jones has also played a central role in helping relocate many of those who played in Melbourne on Thursday.
Jones first got involved while watching the fall of Kabul to the Taliban in August 2021 unfold on television from her Covid-enforced quarantine hotel room after returning from working in England.
"It started when I got a message from Sharda Ugra, an Indian journalist," Jones told the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast.
"She had a connection with Benafsha Hashimi, one of the Afghanistan women's players.
"She basically said, 'do you know any of them? Could you just reach out and touch base and let them know that people are thinking of them?'
"She also added, 'potentially could you look at assisting them in getting out?' She knew of a group of women in Australia who'd got the Afghan women's football team out before the borders had closed. So they'd rallied really quickly with stronger connections and I said, 'oh, look, I can give her a buzz'.
"I sent her a voice message asking how she was and that I couldn't promise her anything but I could look into it and Benafsha came back to me almost immediately.
"She said: 'Yes please, I and all the players desperately want to get out for fear of death'.
"At that stage, the Taliban were going door to door and they were burning their cricket gear and anything that sort of said they were cricketers.
"That's what every female sportsperson was doing at the time."
From that voice message exchange, Jones went on to find herself part of a team who worked round the clock to secure humanitarian visas with the Australian government for 17 centrally-contracted women's cricketers and their immediate families.
"We got over 130 out in the end, which the Australian government's still sort of shaking their heads at going, 'I'm not too sure how you managed that'," Jones added.
"They're exceptionally appreciative of the way in which the cricket community here in Australia, mostly local club teams, have just rallied around them and given them what they need in terms of just a little bit of love and hugs to equipment and an opportunity to play.
"The majority of them are in educational settings at the moment so their English has improved out of sight. That is super helpful for us just to be able to communicate with them.
"But at the same time, health issues, mental health, physical health, spiritual health has been battered and bruised and still is.
"I think it will be an ongoing process to try and support them with that."