The Afghanistan men’s Test team were due to play an inaugural Test match against Australia in November 2021 but following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan and their announcement that “it was not necessary for women to play cricket”, Cricket Australia advised the match was being postponed indefinitely.
Was this the right decision?
Over the course of the last 100 years or so, international sport has often been used as a political weapon. In 1936, Hitler wanted the Berlin Olympics to showcase German Aryan supremacy; perhaps oversimplified as “blue-eyed, big-headed blondes are best”.
Jesse Owens, one of the greatest Olympians and an Afro-American destroyed this race myth with four gold medals. Within cricket, it was the D’Oliveira affair that caused a major international incident.
Basil D’Oliveira had a Portuguese father and Indian mother. South African-born and raised, he excelled at playing cricket but reached a ceiling, unable to play for the all-white South African Test team. He migrated to the UK, gained citizenship, and quickly rose through the grades to become a regular in the England side.
With a scheduled England tour of South Africa in 1968, much was done by various parties in both South Africa and England to prevent D’Oliveira’s inclusion in the English touring party. He was selected, albeit as an injury replacement. The South African Prime Minster advised that D’Oliveira would not be welcome and the MCC formally cancelled the tour.
Whilst the world was aware of the apartheid system in South Africa, the D’Oliveira Affair brought the reality home to the UK public and to the wider cricket world.
It led to South Africa being isolated from international cricket until 1991 (when progress had been made in dismantling apartheid), and was instrumental to the wider sporting and cultural bans that were imposed by the international community during the subsequent apartheid years.
In December 1979, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in an attempt to shore up the Afghan communist government. This prompted the US to boycott the 1980 Moscow Olympics, urging other nations to follow suit. Some did, while others sent reduced teams.
In retaliation, the Soviet Union, other Eastern Bloc countries, and others, notably Cuba and Ethiopia, boycotted the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.
Neither of the Olympic boycotts changed the situation in Afghanistan; the Soviet Union armed forces remained there until February 1989, withdrawing the same year as the Berlin Wall came down (November 1989). Meanwhile, athletes trained, competed and won medals.
In October 2001, following the terrorist attacks of 9-11, the US led an invading force into Afghanistan, with the intention of destroying Al-Qaeda and bringing some stability to the region. During the period of allied forces occupation, Afghanistan became a full International Cricket Council (ICC) member and in doing so received Test status.
The US and allied forced fully withdrew from Afghanistan in August 2021 and the Taliban quickly took over. With the withdrawal, some female athletes managed to escape while others went into hiding. Others won’t have been so lucky. The Taliban has restricted all female sport and is increasing restrictions on female education.
Tuba Sangar had a job as women’s development manager at the Afghanistan Cricket Board (since resigned) and managed to escape to Canada with her family.
When interviewed by Alison Mitchell, BBC commentator for the intercontinental podcast Stumped, Sangar said: “I think the Afghanistan men’s team have done a lot for Afghanistan. Because of them, we know cricket. Because of our men’s team, I know that women should play as well.”
Sangar went on to note that if the Afghanistan’s men’s team were not allowed to compete internationally because of the Taliban preventing women from competing, then everyone loses.
If I was in a position to influence the Australian Cricket Board, I would recommend that they go ahead with the Afghanistan Test match but take every opportunity to promote women’s cricket and women’s rights.
Get Alison Mitchell to provide commentary, Lisa Sthalekar to provide the in -epth analysis and Isa Guha to interview Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Asghar Afghan.
Speak to sponsors and agree to subtle but powerful changes with their slogans.
Education for all women. Sport for all women. That’s better.
Women’s cricket. Just Do It.
Education. Sport. Women. Men. Children. Impossible is Nothing.
Teaching. Learning. Competing. Because you’re worth it.
Encourage supporters to attend with banners that promote women’s cricket.
In short, make sure that every picture of Rashid taking a wicket or every boundary that Asghar scores has a backdrop promoting women’s education and sport.
We want to expand our cricket family and embrace our Afghan cricket brothers but we also want to let our Afghan mothers, sisters and daughters know we are thinking of them, we are doing our best to support them, and we can’t wait for them to join our cricket family, too.
Micko
Roar Rookie
So quota discrimination is "good" discrimination according to you Lloyd? Nothing can change what's happened in the past Lloyd. All other inhabited continents have been colonised by different peoples too, and different ethnic groups have been split up amongst different colonial powers. The best way to move forward is to move forward together, not constantly try to make up for the past.
Lloyd
Roar Rookie
I do agree with what you say Paul. In this article (and in my previous one on racism in cricket) I am trying to encourage a positive approach to change rather than a more apathetic, indifferent or passive approach. That is to say, instigate change rather than hope change will occur.
Lloyd
Roar Rookie
Whilst I can't comment on the logistics of this, this is another positive suggestion to promote change and show support - thank you.
Lloyd
Roar Rookie
Micko, I’m not across the South Africa selection position and so not qualified to provide you with an informed answer. I abhor all discrimination, which I do see as being distinct from the idea of quotas (used to help where people are disadvantaged). You will be aware that most of Africa was carved up by the colonial powers and not within tribal boundaries, thus creating ethnic conflict that became more apparent when those powers left. Migration (be it on economic or conflict grounds) will have exasperated the situation.
DaveJ
Roar Rookie
Lloyd the whole Afghanistan question is under discussion by the ICC. Apparently they have commissioned some people to do a report, not sure when it will be completed. Afghanistan was only given full membership of the ICC on the basis it was developing a women’s team. No women’s team, no Test matches. So ICC is presumably seeing how this is going to play out with the Taliban. Australia has to take a common approach with the ICC for starters. But even if that is resolved, the issue is what do the Afghanistan cricket team represent? If they represent a country and a sports body under the control of the Taliban and other governments regard them as an extreme abuser of human rights then it is not unheard of to impose visa bans, just as was done with Zimbabwe 13 years ago, and South Africa under apartheid. Also, the Taliban regime has not been recognised by Australia and much of the international community. These questions go way beyond women’s participation, though that issue is a big part of the equation.
Paul
Roar Guru
I was in Georgia in the early 1970’s with my family, still a young fella and we caught a bus that still had a black line on the walls. We only found out later that had been for whites at the front and blacks at the back. Kinda explains the looks we got when we sat on the “wrong” side of the line.
Once Upon a Time on the Roar
Roar Guru
Yeah, he was born and grew up in Alabama, which lies in the deep deep south, and slave owners back in the day there as well as in the likes of Mississippi and Arksansas were the most brutal. After the end of the Civil War in 1865, for the following century until the start of the civil rights movement, it was in these states, as well as Louisiana and Tennessee where the former slaves and then their descendants copped it far worse than say Virginia, Georgia and the Carolinas. But remember the majority of the people on the Northern or Union side in the war didn’t like non-Caucasian people either, so nowhere in the USA by Jesse Owens’s time, did African Americans enjoy total equality and equal opportunity.
Derek Murray
Roar Rookie
And the late cancellation of the SA tour.
Paul
Roar Guru
This perhaps highlights just how grim things were for people of colour in the USA, rather than how well he was actually treated in Germany.
Curmudgeon1961
Roar Rookie
Couldn't agree more Oz. We are very compromised. Our Pakistan boycott coincided with those terrorism attacks in India but we didn't not tour there due to influence of the BCCI
Curmudgeon1961
Roar Rookie
Or all out an all women's game playing an invitation Afghanistan XI. Allegedly the Taliban Mk. 2.0 are looking for international investment as they now realise what a state things are in. An opportunity. Wouldn't be easy
Once Upon a Time on the Roar
Roar Guru
Yeah I don't know how things were for him from the widespread German population, it was only three years in to the Nazi regime, three years from the start of the war, and six years from the start of the holocaust, and not all Germans supported the Nazis - they only won 32% of votes in the 1932 elections, and then only increased that by 6% in rigged elections a year or two later that were just for public show.
Micko
Roar Rookie
He also praised the Germans for how they treated him, compared to his own country.
Derek Murray
Roar Rookie
Watching Australian cricket from afar, and with the added perspective of a SA wife and in-laws, I see how some of our insular decision-making hurts our reputation and the game. Touring Pakistan is a great step. A test against Afghanistan would be another. Great thinking
Once Upon a Time on the Roar
Roar Guru
What Owens said was that being an Olympic champion didn't improve his lot at home in the USA and President Roosevelt also declined to shake his hand when meeting the team upon their return home.
Once Upon a Time on the Roar
Roar Guru
I don't think that's what he meant. The fact is Hitler was incensed that a black man won anything, let alone four gold medals. Four gold medals at the one Olympics remains a rare achievement to this very day.
Linphoma
Guest
CA has zero interest in restoring an Afghan fixture. No leadership from the organisation, their interest is in $$$ and not offending the BCCI.
Paul
Roar Guru
Gee, you're a brave man Lloyd, mixing sport & politics in your first article. You raise some interesting points but this is a seriously complex issue, that doesn't simply come down a yes or no answer. I'm not a fan of tokenism, so not sure what good Australia playing a one-off mens Test will do. I'm equally not sure what the short or long term ramifications of using images of females will have on the situation of women in Afghanistan. Provoking repressive regimes might not have much of an impact on Australians, but it very often does on those in-country. I've no issues with Australia playing this game, as long as it was part of a concerted plan from all Test playing nations to include Afghan women in international cricket. I'd also suggest this needs to be a slowly, slowly approach. The Taliban has shown they're prepared to be patient and so does cricket
U
Roar Rookie
If I was a player like Rashid Khan I would do all I could to immigrate to another cricketing nation while he’s still young
Gee
Roar Rookie
How about Afghanistan playing our womens team? That would send a message to those Taliban terrorists.