Aussies cancel Afghanistan series because of women’s rights – but Ireland have played them multiple times in 2024
Mark Adair bats during the final T20 between Afghanistan and Ireland in Sharjah
Australia have postponed another series against Afghanistan in protest at the country’s treatment of females – the day after Ireland lost a T20 international series against the Afghans in the UAE.
Ireland were soundly beaten on Monday to lose the series 2-1 against Afghanistan. The Irish men’s team also played the same opposition last month and this month in one-day clashes, while Ireland won the first Test match in their history against the Afghans at the beginning of the month.
Cricket Australia scrapped a planned Test match against the same opponents shortly after the Taliban seized power in 2021 and later refused to take part in an ODI series scheduled for last March, citing unequal treatment of women and girls by the regime.
Having faced Afghanistan in the World Cup in November, Australia were set to play three T20s against them in the United Arab Emirates in August, but those dates have been unilaterally pulled following discussions with the Australian government.
There have been calls for the International Cricket Council to ban Afghanistan entirely given the effective ban on women’s competitive sport, but they have thus far been resisted.
A statement from Cricket Australia read: “Over the past 12 months, CA has continued to consult with the Australian Government on the situation in Afghanistan. The government’s advice is that conditions for women and girls in Afghanistan are getting worse.
“For this reason, we have maintained our previous position and will postpone the bilateral series against Afghanistan.
“CA continues its strong commitment to supporting participation by women and girls in cricket around the world and will continue to actively engage the International Cricket Council and work closely with the Afghanistan Cricket Board to determine what actions could be taken to support the resumption of bilateral matches in the future. We again thank the Australian Government for its support.”
