by David Harris
The England and Wales Cricket Board, ECB, has called for a unified response to action against Afghanistan amid calls for the England men’s team to boycott next month’s Champions Trophy match between the sides.
England are due to face Afghanistan in Lahore on February 26, but UK politicians want the team to refuse to play the 50-over match and take a stand against the Taliban regime’s assault on women’s rights.
A letter to the ECB, written by Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi, and signed by the likes of Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, and former Labour leaders Jeremy Corbyn and Lord Kinnock, urged England to boycott the match to “send a clear signal” that “such grotesque abuses will not be tolerated”.
Women’s participation in sport has effectively been outlawed since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021 and many of Afghanistan’s female players left the country for their own safety.
International Cricket Council regulations state full membership is conditional upon having women’s cricket teams and pathway structures in place.
However, Afghanistan’s men’s team have been allowed to participate in ICC tournaments seemingly without any sanctions.
In response to the letter signed by group of more than 160 politicians calling for a boycott, ECB chief executive Richard Gould said the governing body “is committed to finding a solution” which “upholds the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan”.