LISA STHALEKAR: The International Cricket Council should reallocate funds from the men’s to the women’s team

Australia is showing no sign of letting up against the Poms with two ODI wins to open their Ashes campaign.

But the series is not the only important cricket to be played by women Down Under this month with the Afghanistan women’s team playing against the Cricket Without Boarders XI on January 30 at Junction Oval, just down the road from where Australia will play England in a day-night Test match at the MCG.

This is welcome news for this group of players who fled Afghanistan more than three years ago after the Taliban’s return to power.

With the help of a few key people here in Australia and the Australian Government, more than 20 players and their families settled in Canberra.

The group will come together for a two-day camp prior to the match and no doubt will look forward to playing the game that they love.

Several attempts have been made by various groups to allow this group of players, who have not played internationally for more than decade, to compete.

The players have written to the ICC for assistance in setting up a refugee team here in Australia.

This was off the back of the amazing success the Afghanistan men’s team reached in the T20 World Cup in July last year.

The men captivated their nation and the cricketing world as they fought their way to their first ever semifinal in an ICC event.

Discussions about their place within international cricket have again been raised leading into ICC Champions Trophy next month.

More than 160 British politicians have signed a letter to the England and Wales Cricket Board, asking for their team to boycott the match against Afghanistan in the Champions Trophy.

The English politicians aren’t the only ones asking their team to take a stronger stance on the cricket field.

ECB CEO Richard Gould wrote to ICC asking for the governing body to act in what he calls “gender apartheid”.

South Africa’s Sport Minister has argued the same reason his nation was barred from international competition during the apartheid era should be applied to the regressive Kabul Government.

Cricket Australia have in the past postponed tours against Afghanistan on the basis of “deteriorating human rights for women and girls in the country under Taliban rule” but have no problems playing Afghanistan in international competition like at the T20 World Cup.

So what is the solution?

This is such a complex issue. Some politicians believe sport could be the vehicle to drive change within a country that is suppressing their women and girls. Would banning the men’s team bring about that change?

When the Taliban took over in 2021, the ICC put together a working group who continue to work with representatives from the Government and Afghanistan Cricket Board. The ICC last week stated, “it remains closely engaged with the situation in Afghanistan”.

Gould also asked that the working group be reformed given that it is entirely made up of men.

The ICC stance is that because the players and ACB are not making government policies they therefore should not be punished.

Even the Afghanistan women that fled have stated how proud they are what their men’s team have achieved.

They just want to be afforded the same opportunity to play for their country even if they can never go back there.

The levers that may assist in their plight, is that the ICC could give a smaller allocation of funding to the ACB and reallocate it to the exiled women.

As a full member of the ICC Afghanistan get a significant larger slice of the financial pie than other members.

They also need to ensure that as full member they “have either (a) participated in at least one ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup or ICC Women’s T20 World Cup over the previous four years or (b) currently feature on the ICC’s official women’s ODI rankings table.”

As well as “have a sustained and sufficient pool of players to support strong and consistent national level selection across the senior men’s, women’s and U19 teams”.

Currently the ICC Women’s U19 T20 World Cup is taking place in Malaysia where 13 teams are participating and Afghanistan is not one of them.

It would be hard for the ACB to argue they are fulfilling this stipulation to support female cricket.

Back to the Ashes and Alana King is mounting her case for inclusion in the T20 side for the first time since February 2023.

After spinning the Aussies to victory on Tuesday in Melbourne, with her best bowling figures of 4-25, it will be hard to look past her.

England had their chances to even the series as they bowled out Australia for 180.

However King combined nicely with Kim Garth (3-37) to put the squeeze on the English who were crumbled to be all out for 159.

Since King’s last T20 international, she has been overlooked for Georgia Wareham who has an impeccable record with the ball, bat and is also a gun in the field.

Wareham’s record for Australia in the shortest format is unbelievable with 63 wickets at an average of 16.38 with an economy of 6.12. Yet King’s record is fairly similar despite not playing as many matches, 21 wickets at an average of 19.52, with a slightly higher economy rate of 6.29.

During last October’s T20 World Cup, Australia’s bowling unit consisted of three spinners, Ash Gardner, Sophie Molineux and Wareham, along with the pace trio of Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland and Darcie Brown. With Molineux out due to knee surgery they can find room for another leg spinner if they are willing to.

For King’s sake, I hope they do as she has shown that she is certainly good enough and I believe with the amount of drift and sidespin that she imparts on the ball, she is the real X-factor within the Australian team.