Afghanistan’s displaced women cricketers will tour England next month in a major step in their effort to rebuild their cricket careers after the return of the Taliban to power forced them out of sports and public life.The Afghanistan Refugee Team will include players who were previously contracted with the Afghanistan Cricket Board and later left the country after being “systematically excluded from sport and public life” by the Taliban, according to the England and Wales Cricket Board.The tour will begin on June 22 and will feature Twenty20 matches, training sessions and a chance for the players to attend the Women’s T20 World Cup final at Lord’s Cricket Ground on July 5.The ECB said the tour “carries significant cultural and sporting importance.”“This tour represents not only an opportunity for them to compete as a team,” the ECB said, “but a moment for cricket in this country to stand for inclusion and the protection of women’s participation in sport.”Most of the Afghanistan players later settled in Australia, where they continued playing domestic cricket but remained without access to international matches, despite International Cricket Council rules requiring all full members to support both men’s and women’s teams.The players have repeatedly asked the International Cricket Council to recognise them as a refugee team.Their return to cricket has been supported by consultancy firm “It’s Game On”, which was co-founded by former Australia cricketer Mel Jones.“These players have shown extraordinary courage and commitment to the game, despite everything that has been taken from them,” Jones said in the ECB statement.“They deserve more opportunities like this; they deserve to be recognized as part of the global cricket community.”Jones also called for more plans for “sustained and meaningful action beyond this year.”ECB deputy chief executive Clare Connor said cricket had “a responsibility to stand for inclusion and opportunity.”“We are proud to be hosting this tour,” Connor said, “and supporting the players in deepening their connection to the game.”
