Tim Paine, Australia Test captain said the chances of its first-ever test against Afghanistan going ahead are “not looking good” with the Taliban unwilling to let women play cricket and questioned why the game’s governing body had remained quiet on the issue.
Australia is due to face the Afghanistan men’s team in Hobart from November 27 but Cricket Australia said on Thursday it would not host the side if reports that women’s cricket would not be supported in the war-torn country were substantiated.
Tim Paine Stresses That To Be A Test Playing Nation One Has To Field An International Women’s Team Too According To ICC’s Guidelines
Tim Paine also highlighted the International Cricket Council’s continued silence given that Afghanistan is due to take part in the Twenty20 World Cup, which starts from October 17 in the United Arab Emirates and Oman.
“(The Hobart test) is not looking good, we are in a world of trouble no doubt about that, but the reasoning around it is probably fair enough,” Paine said on SEN radio.
“There are probably two levels to it. There’s the cricketing aspect to it from an ICC point of view that to be a test-playing nation you have to have an international women’s team, obviously with the Taliban at the moment banning women from playing any sport and that has implications at an ICC level.”
“Secondly from a female, human rights point of view, excluding half of your population from trying to do something is not on. I don’t think we want to be associated with countries that are taking things or opportunities off literally half of their population.”
Australia Test captain Tim Paine said Friday he believes teams could pull out of next month’s Twenty20 World Cup or boycott playing Afghanistan over the Taliban’s reported ban on women participating in sport. The International Cricket Council has yet to decide how to deal with the regime’s stance on women and the Afghan men’s team is still scheduled to play the event from October 17-November 14 in the United Arab Emirates and Oman.
Under ICC regulations, nations with Test status must also have an active women’s team and Australia on Wednesday said it would cancel a maiden Test against Afghanistan in Hobart in November unless the Taliban backtracks.
Tim Paine Finds It Strange As Nothing Is Heard From ICC Despite 2021 T20I WC Being A Month Or So Away
Tim Paine said he could not see how Afghanistan can be allowed to play in an ICC event under the current circumstances. Australia’s Test captain was fully supportive of Cricket Australia’s decision to signal the cancellation of the Hobart match
“At this stage, we have heard from Cricket Australia, we’ve heard from the Australian government, we’ve heard from the Australian Cricketers Association,” Paine said.
“But as yet we’ve heard nothing from the ICC, which I think is fascinating given there is a T20 World Cup in a month’s time and at the moment Afghanistan is in that. It will be interesting to see what happens in that space.
“Does the team get kicked out of the World Cup? I imagine it will be impossible if teams are pulling out against playing against them and governments are not letting them travel to our shores, then how a team like that can be allowed to play in an ICC-sanctioned event is going to be very, very hard to see.”
Cricket Australia (CA) all but confirmed on Thursday its men’s season-opening Test against Afghanistan, slated to start November 27, will be scrapped because of the Taliban’s ban on women’s sport.
Tim Paine backed the governing body’s strong stance, adding the relative silence from the ICC was “fascinating” and he can’t see how Afghanistan can be allowed to compete in next month’s T20 World Cup.