For women’s Women’s cricket players, their first competitive game since it escaped oppression in their country of origin represents a significant step on their sports journey, although the way ahead may not be the one that foreseen before.
So what are the ways to follow?
Playing as Afghanistan women
Against cricket Without Borders, players will compete as the XI female of Afghanistan compared to the women of Afghanistan and will use a kit specifically designed for the game instead of a uniform of the national team.
Mel Jones, the commentator who was fundamental to help the players of the Afghanistan women Probable that these differences remain.
The cricket Board of Afghanistan and the ICC say they cannot do it, since it would contravene the laws of the country. This is the reason why Afghanistan has been allowed to retain the membership of the ICC, despite not currently fulfilling the requirement of committing to develop the women’s cricket.
The CPI is an organization led by members, linked by the vote of its members and, if the joints that support to recognize a female team from Afghanistan are in the minority, the ruling organ can argue that their hands are tied.
“Anything to do with these players as a team would be their own individual team,” Jones told Espncricinfo PowerPlay podcast. “They will not play under the ACB or the Afghanistan flag as a side.
“But what we are trying to navigate at this time is how we can allow them to follow part of their country without saying that they are the Afghanistan Women’s cricket team because I understand that this will never be the case.
“That is very, very difficult for them as a group to try to understand. I still don’t think that most of them have had their heads at this time, and that only adds to trauma. I think, hopefully, so lucky they They know that they were the hired players, the hired female players of Afghanistan in the fall of Afghanistan, and have the opportunity to play once again, for the first time really, like that group. “
Jones recognized the complexities of the governance of sport, but highlighted the need for discussion. She accredited Nick Hockley, outgoing CEO of cricket Australia, to meet the players several times and listen to their concerns.
“The ability to sit and listen has made a big difference for this group, and that is probably the only piece that would say that we have been really bad in the last four years, is that people turn their backs on that conversation,” Jones said.
“I hope that if we learn some of this, if something like this happens again, we simply do not turn our backs on people and hope that silence makes it disappear because it simply does not.”
Refugee team
Meanwhile, a conflict point to form a refugee team is that, unlike the Olympic refugee team, which includes individual athletes from several countries, this team is of a single nation. Any refugee team would have to be open to players in the exile of other countries, unless this team is recognized exclusively as the Afghanistan refugee team.
Even then, the fact that some of the exiled Afghan players reside in the United Kingdom and Canada raises logistic challenges to unite the team, particularly without the funds to do so.
Benafsha Hashimi, one of Afghanistan’s exiled players in Australia, said the next game could be a springboard for broader recognition as a team.
“Of course I want to play under the name of my country, that is my dream, that was the reason I am here,” Hashimi said. “We have tried many times, sending an email and sending the letter to the ICC, but unfortunately all the time they are ignoring us, which is quite annoying.
“We are living in different states, I know, but the point was that we were living in a different state in Afghanistan. It really does not change. I can still play and we can still catch up. It really is not a big thing to do it, So I will definitely do it.
“We said all the time that we cannot jump, we have to go step by step. It’s a good initial step. I am very excited about it. I can say that it is a special feeling inside that I cannot really explain how it has been for me.
Funds
The ECB, who together with cricket Australia refused to present male teams in bilateral series against Afghanistan, recently wrote to the ICC asking, among other things, that they retain a proportion of funds from the cricket Board of Afghanistan until the cricket of the Women and girls restart in the country.
Firooza Amiri, one of the players who escaped from Afghanistan and now is based in Melbourne, told the podcast that this week’s game marked the beginning of the target of the playing team for Afghanistan, with any stew, and upon receiving financial support To do so.
“It’s not just a game for us, it’s a big step,” said Amiri. “It will be a big step that we are taking towards our Crickt trip.
“The CPI ignored us as a refugee team and also as a national Afghanistan team that represents Afghanistan and obviously the Afghanistan cricket Board also ignored us. But the Australia cricket took a great step for us.
“From here, it does not matter if we are exiled Afghan or the Afghan refugee team XI or Afghanistan or something. Our hope is just to represent Afghanistan in some way … and women outside and inside Afghanistan look at us as a representative of Afghanistan.
“What we expect from here is to continue playing for Afghanistan under the Afghan XI team and we only want the world to help us with this trip.”
Valkerie Baynes is a general editor, Women’s cricket, in Espncricinfo