Australia’s one-off Test against Afghanistan has officially been postponed, Cricket Australia confirmed on Friday (November 5). The historic Test has been hanging in the balance ever since the CA revealed that they wouldn’t support the Taliban government’s firm stance against the inclusion of women in sports.
Instead of cancelling the Test match, CA has vowed to host Afghanistan someday later in the future once the situation becomes clear. Cricket Australia had earlier said it would cancel the November 27 Test in Hobart if reports substantiated that women in Afghanistan would be banned from playing the game.
Australian’s One-Off Test Against Afghanistan Has Been Postponed For Uncertainty Regarding Women Cricket Following Militant Group Taliban’s Rule
Under ICC regulations, nations with Test status must also have an active women’s team. Afghanistan played its first test match in 2018, becoming the 12th test nation. Since then, they have played 6 test matches, compiling a record of 3 wins and three defeats. Australia has so far played three international matches against Afghanistan. All three were ODIs, the latest being a World Cup 2019 contest.
“CA is committed to supporting growing the game for women and men in Afghanistan and around the world, however, given the present uncertainty, CA felt it necessary to postpone the Test match until a later time when the situation is clearer,” they said in a statement.
“CA looks forward to hosting Afghanistan players in the BBL this season, who are great ambassadors for the game, and to hosting both the Afghanistan women’s and men’s team in the not too distant future.”
The one-off Test, which would have served as the ideal preparation for the Australian side ahead of the Ashes, has now been replaced with an intra-squad match that will begin on December 1 at Redlands in Brisbane.
Cricket Australia also confirmed that the same venue will host the first practice game between England Lions and England, beginning November 23. Following the conclusion of the three-day fixture, the two teams will lock horns in the second practice game – a four-day fixture beginning from November 30 at the Ian Healy Oval in Brisbane.
Tim Paine Would Like To Play Practice Games Before 1st Test Against England
Meanwhile, Australian Test skipper Tim Paine is hopeful of having a few games under his belt ahead of the first Test at the Gabba on December 8 as he continues his road to recovery.
“I had a decent catch yesterday – pretty good,” Paine said.
“I had a bit of a dive around so I’m a little bit stiff today. I was going to have a catch (today) … but I’ve had to pull the pin on that just to give myself a bit of time to rest up. I don’t want to be doing too much (on) back-to-back days.
“I’m looking forward to playing a game of cricket in the coming weeks. I’d love to get a club game in followed by either a second XI or a Shield game, depending on the dates of those games and how I pull up from playing in the club game.”
“But ideally, I’d like to play a club game, a second XI game, a Shield game and a one-dayer for Tassie in late November, and then go up to Queensland. Potentially, I’ll be getting two, three or four games of cricket in before that first Test, which would be a really good result.”
Australia skipper Tim Paine is hoping to play a game for his team Tasmania in the Sheffield Shield and Marsh Cup ahead of the first test of the Ashes 2021. In September, Tim Paine had neck surgery as he sustained a bulging disc that caused pain in his left arm and neck and had two-week rest.
The wicket-keeper batsman underwent neck surgery in September, which meant surgeons had to cut a hole in his throat to fix the bulging disc issue. He had a two-week rest before undergoing rehabilitation to ensure he is fit for the first Test of the five-match series. He has been slowly recovering from the neck issue