Australia backflips on historic Afghanistan Test match

An “appalling” ban appears to be the final straw for Australia as the historic Test match with Afghanistan appears to be in fresh doubt.

Australia’s historic Test match with Afghanistan is set to be cancelled after the Australian government reportedly withdrew support for the game.

Scheduled to start on November 27 at Hobart’s Blundstone Arena, the match, which was postponed from last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, appears in doubt after the Taliban regained control of the nation.

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Sweeping back into power after the US ended its 20-year occupation of the nation, the brutal Taliban regime has shown little has changed in the time it has been out of power.

The Taliban promised that it would protect rights of women but many have reportedly been killed for not wearing a burqa and are afraid to leave their homes.

The Taliban also reportedly rounded up women “like cattle” and opened fire on female protesters in Kabul staging a freedom march.

The regime has now reportedly banned women from sport, with the deputy head of the Taliban’s cultural commission, Ahmadullah Wasiq, telling SBS News that it is “unnecessary” for women to play cricket.

“In cricket, they might face a situation where their face and body will not be covered. Islam does not allow women to be seen like this,” Wasiq said.

“It is the media era, and there will be photos and videos, and then people watch it. Islam and the Islamic Emirate do not allow women to play cricket or play the kind of sports where they get exposed.

“In cricket and other sports, women will not get an Islamic dress code. It is obvious that they will get exposed and will not follow the dress code, and Islam does not allow that.”

The ban puts Afghanistan’s Test status under threat. Photo by Dibyangshu SARKAR / AFP

While there was an uneasy agreement to go ahead with the match, it appears that it is now unlikely with the ABC’s Henry Belot reporting that the Federal Government is pulling its support for the match with Minister for Sport Richard Colbeck saying “excluding women from sport at any level is unacceptable” and that the Minister is “urging international sport authorities, including the International Cricket Council, to take a stand against this appalling ruling”.

The Taliban’s attitudes towards women and their individual rights should not be accepted by the international sporting community,” Colbeck said as reported by Belot on Twitter.

“We stand behind the individual sportsmen and women of Afghanistan who have competed with great pride, particularly at the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.

They will remain welcome in our country but not under the flag of the Taliban.”

Similarly, Assistant Defence Minister Andrew Hastie told Sky News that he did not want the one-off Test to take place after the Taliban government included prominent militants, stating it would be a “strategic victory” if the match went ahead.

“I do not want that cricket match to go ahead,” Mr Hastie told Sky News Australia.

“I think playing this match will give them a strategic victory through the proxy of sport; so I’m opposed to it, it’s as simple as that. I’ll make my voice known.”

Blundstone Arena is meant to be host the clash. Photo: AAP Image/Michael Dodge

Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley told SEN that the sport was still grappling with the situation.

“What is absolutely unequivocal is our stance on cricket as a sport for all, driving gender equality,” Hockley said.

“We want to see cricket for women and men thrive all around the world.

“The current situation is very new, international cricket is working to understand the implications but it’s something we’ll continue to watch very closely.

“We don’t yet have all of the answers but we’re in dialogue and taking our advice from all the relevant organisations.

“We’re working very closely, and having all the right discussions, with the ICC, the Australian Government and ultimately we’ll take our lead from them.”

However, cricket journalist Peter Della Penna slammed the sudden concern after Australia voted yes for Afghanistan to be granted full member status.

Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley and any Australian pol showing sudden concern for the plight of Afghan women are clowns. Australia voted YES with all ICC board members to give Afghanistan FM/Test status in 2017 when ACB/Ashraf Ghani gov hadn't done squat for women's cricket. https://t.co/iAD5W15aw8pic.twitter.com/XAyqPjjBRw

— Peter Della Penna (@PeterDellaPenna) September 8, 2021

The Afghanistan Cricket Board reportedly have 25 contracted players but have not played a game as yet.

The final decision on the match will come down to the ICC however.

But SMH cricket writer Malcolm Conn told 6PR this morning that the women’s sport ban looked likely to see Afghanistan’s full member status within the ICC revoked.

“The requirement is that if you’re going to be a full member of the International Cricket Council, then you have to have both men’s and women’s teams,” he told Oliver Peterson. “There are 12 full members including Afghanistan. I would say the way things are looking at the moment that the Test match is looking unlikely.”

Afghanistan have had a promising start to its International cricket tenure. Photo by Jordan Mansfield/Getty Images

Last week the Taliban green lit Afghanistan’s participation in the match with Cricket Australia telling SBS Pashto that the plans were “well underway” for the match and that there was “goodwill between CA and the Afghanistan Cricket Board to make the match happen”.

Since then, Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein admitted he had would get some advice from the community about Hobart hosting the match.

“I have very real concerns as to whether or not the state should hold that match without some very clear commitments being made around it in terms of the future of women’s sport,” Gutwein told a state budget estimates hearing on Monday

“What I intend to do, in terms of that match going ahead, is reach out to the Hazara community later this week and have a chat with the local communities here to get a sense as to their view.”