General Cricket Discussion

dick towards Taliban*
As far as i know, no law has been passed yet in Afghanistan prohibiting women’s cricket.
It is completely fair for everyone to question ICC's silence on the matter since they are the governing council for the sport, but for CA to have this holier than thou attitude is fukcing ridiculous.

The hard truth is, as Hamid Shinwari, ACB CEO said:
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It is completely fair for everyone to question ICC's silence on the matter since they are the governing council for the sport, but for CA to have this holier than thou attitude is fukcing ridiculous.

The hard truth is, as Hamid Shinwari, ACB CEO said:
View attachment 255275
The full member status was granted on the understanding that women's cricket would be developed.

The difference is the Afghanistan women's team, which it is true that there has not been one really, have spent several months training for their first match against Oman. That match and any other matches will not happen. Those women's cricketers; some have fled the country and others are in hiding for fear of the repercussions.
 
The full member status was granted on the understanding that women's cricket would be developed.
Strip them of their full-member status, fine, perfectly within the rules. CA not wanting to play Test cricket with them would then make sense.

But what's this shit about Tim Paine saying "we shouldn't associate ourselves with Afghanistan"?

Are you really going to isolate an entire nation for something that's beyond their control? In the decades of turmoil the Afghans have spent, cricket has been the one thing they've had. You can't just take that away from them.
Those women's cricketers; some have fled the country and others are in hiding for fear of the repercussions.
Incredibly scary, and there's really not a lot you can say other than hope and pray for their safety.
 
Strip them of their full-member status, fine, perfectly within the rules. CA not wanting to play Test cricket with them would then make sense.

But what's this shit about Tim Paine saying "we shouldn't associate ourselves with Afghanistan"?

Are you really going to isolate an entire nation for something that's beyond their control? In the decades of turmoil the Afghans have spent, cricket has been the one thing they've had. You can't just take that away from them.

Incredibly scary, and there's really not a lot you can say other than hope and pray for their safety.
South Africa was isolated during apartheid. I don't see this as being much different. It would be a shame for the players but it was a shame that some South Africa players never got the chance to play internationally.

Now, there's probably of other instances where perhaps countries should or shouldn't be treated in a similar way, but Afghanistan is a high-profile instance of that.

Sport can also be a tool for political change. I don't know how much the ban on South Africa had in terms of changing the political landscape, in comparison to trade or sanctions on a political level. But, it may be that the soft power of sporting isolation could force a small change in Afghanistan that 20 years of occupation couldn't do.
 
South Africa was isolated during apartheid. I don't see this as being much different. It would be a shame for the players but it was a shame that some South Africa players never got the chance to play internationally.
Was about to say, not too dissimilar to that. It would be a shame for the cricketers, but I guess the only difference is - the laws passed during Apartheid were passed by an elected, democratic government whereas in Afghanistan, these inhumane systems have been put into place by a hostile, extremist group of people that took over (after decades of war and terrorism) an already helpless general population. I don't think (or at least I would hope not) there's anyone in Afghanistan that isn't Taliban, endorsing the ban on women's cricket. So for an already helpless nation to face isolation for something they did not endorse, opt for or wanted do anything with would be kinda cruel, wouldn't you say?

Now, there's probably of other instances where perhaps countries should or shouldn't be treated in a similar way, but Afghanistan is a high-profile instance of that.
Women's cricket faced backlash in India in the 1970s, and was illegal by law in Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the 1990s and Bangladesh in the early 2000s - hardly the most high-profile instance in the region itself.

But, it may be that the soft power of sporting isolation could force a small change in Afghanistan that 20 years of occupation couldn't do.
I do think some of us overplay sports' political importance. I doubt Jesse Owens winning Gold in 1936 made Mr. Hitler think 'you know, maybe this super-race idea isn't all that well-thought out tbh lol'.
 
Was about to say, not too dissimilar to that. It would be a shame for the cricketers, but I guess the only difference is - the laws passed during Apartheid were passed by an elected, democratic government whereas in Afghanistan, these inhumane systems have been put into place by a hostile, extremist group of people that took over (after decades of war and terrorism) an already helpless general population. I don't think (or at least I would hope not) there's anyone in Afghanistan that isn't Taliban, endorsing the ban on women's cricket. So for an already helpless nation to face isolation for something they did not endorse, opt for or wanted do anything with would be kinda cruel, wouldn't you say?


Women's cricket faced backlash in India in the 1970s, and was illegal by law in Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the 1990s and Bangladesh in the early 2000s - hardly the most high-profile instance in the region itself.


I do think some of us overplay sports' political importance. I doubt Jesse Owens winning Gold in 1936 made Mr. Hitler think 'you know, maybe this super-race idea isn't all that well-thought out tbh lol'.
Like it or not The Taliban are the government now. They will be recognised, tolerated or not. It will vary from country to country. Prior to that it was a puppet government, propped up by the US. I don't know what the people (including the cricketers) of Afghanistan would prefer. For a lot of Afghans life won't change at all, for some they might never be able to go back if they've left. It's an awful situation.

In terms of high-profile I was talking about now. All those countries have teams now. I mean, women had to wear skirts until about 20 years ago when playing. There's been an issue recently about the MCC hosting a women's match - I can't remember the exact details. And there are certainly areas where the UK and Australia are not beacons of equality when it comes to sex, gender, racial issues.

I agree that the power of sport might make zero difference. The Taliban are off the charts crazy so they might not care at all. Also, compared with when South Africa was excluded the power of money is far more influential on sport.
 
T20s are interesting, but even shorter games like the T10 would be more explosive and quicker. Or who knows, ventures like The Hundred could be picked up as the format.
Thats going to be the big debate in the days to come. ODI dont seem to have a chance in term of Olympics, since most of the other sports tend to get done with their games quickly.

T20 seems apt. Ventures like T10, 100,HK Super Sixes would have been great, but they lack the basic Olympic requirement of not having a World Championship in that format.
 
I guess this settles the reality of where Afghanistan cricket is headed. Its tragic for the players as AFG was one of the most exciting things to have happened to cricket in a while, but it looks like it is set to be taken over by Taliban once and for all. Playing cricket with AFG will be the same as playing cricket with the Taliban



What CA has done is not about leaving a country high and dry in the hour of need. They have actually taken a stand against the atrocity that has happened there in the past few weeks. Playing cricket with them and fulfilling cricketing commitments with around 30-50 odd folks in the cricketing setup, while the rest of the country is subjugated to god-knows-what by the Taliban would be a head-in-the-sand moment for any orgaization at this moment. Taliban and its partner countries are desperately trying to attain acceptance at the international level (recent SAARC summit), and this would be a small (if possibly insignificant) gesture that not everyone is going to accept them
 
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