Cricket Australia ‘proud’ of Afghanistan stance after ICC criticism
Mike Baird has defended Cricket Australia’s stance on refusing to play Afghanistan in bilateral series after coming under criticism from outgoing ICC chairman Greg Barclay.
The CA chairman was surprised by Barclay’s spray, saying he “hadn’t heard those views before in any kind of forum”.
Barclay, who is handing over the reins to BCCI supremo Jay Shah, took a pointed dig at CA for playing Afghanistan in major tournaments, but cancelling various head-to-head series against the country.
“If you really want to make a political statement, don’t play them in a World Cup,” Barclay said in an interview with The Telegraph.
“Sure, it might cost you a semi-final place, but principles are principles. It’s not about having half a principle.”
The ICC has not penalised Afghanistan despite their women’s team being unable to play in their own country since the Taliban reclaimed power in 2021.
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Australia played Afghanistan at last year’s ODI World Cup, best known for Glenn Maxwell’s extraordinary unbeaten 201 that sealed a stunning win.
But Afghanistan turned the tables to famously beat Australia in the T20 edition earlier this year, booking a historic semi-final spot.
CA have cancelled multiple bilateral series against Afghanistan for the last three years citing marked deterioration in human rights for women and girls since the Taliban returned.
An Afghanistan women’s XI will play a match against a CA XI at the Junction Oval on January 30, ahead of the day-night Ashes Test at the MCG.
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The players involved have been living in Melbourne and Canberra since 2021.
“We’re very proud of the position we’ve taken, and we’re supporting the Afghan women’s cricket team and those members that are still here (based in Australia),” Baird said.
“We’ll be doing that (game) at the end of the summer.
“I think it’s important any game that has women as a key driver … they need to actually walk it.
“We’ve taken a position, and we’re proudly standing up where we think we should.
“That event that’s going to come at the end of January is going to be a celebration of women.”
After Afghanistan’s men’s team made the semi-finals at this year’s T20 World Cup, the women’s players used the opportunity to plead their case to the ICC, urging them to set up a refugee side out of Australia.
“We are asking the ICC to assist us in setting up a refugee team in Australia,” the women wrote to the ICC in an open letter in July.
“It could be administered by the East Asian Cricket office based at Cricket Australia.
“Through this team we aim to represent all Afghan women who dream of playing cricket but are unable to in Afghanistan.
“We want to recruit and train girls and women who love cricket, to show the world the talent of Afghan women and to demonstrate the great victories they can achieve if given a chance through the leadership and financial support of the ICC.”
