Burning their cricket jerseys, travelling in small groups and taking risks to cross border: The story of how Afghanan women cricketers reached Australian shores | Cricket News

A ‘backyard immigration office’, players burning their cricketing jerseys and equipment, travelling as small groups and other secret plans. That was how the 19 Afghanan contracted women cricketers along with their coaches and families were pulled from Afghanan to Pakan and then Australia the Australian cricket authorities. With Taliban banning women’s cricket in the country in 2021, 19 contracted women cricketers including cricketer Benafsha Hashimi were helped former Australian cricketer and commentator Mel Jones in their journey to Australia. As the Afghanan XI faces Cricket Without Borders XI in an exhibition match at Junction Oval ahead of the day-night Women’s Ashes Test , Jones has opened up on the rescue act. It was during Jones’ quarantine in a Melbourne hotel that the cricketer messaged Hashimi.
“You don’t know who I am. But do you, and any of the players, think that your lives are in threat, and would you like to look at potentially getting out?,” Jones told Fox Cricket about her message to Hashimi in 2021. According to the report, Hasimi replied, ‘Yes, we do,’. According to the report Fox Cricket, the former 53-year old Australian cricketer then set up a ‘backyard immigration officer’ in her hotel room in Melbourne and was in touch with the Australian government officials to help the Afghan women cricketers getting humanitarian visas. According to Jones, the l of 19 Afghanan contracted players soon grew to more than 135 with players’ family members as well coaches, adminrators, members of Afghanan Cricket Board in the mix. The l got very big, very quickly. The Australian Government said there’s not a chance that this will fly. But in the end, we got 130-plus out.” Jones told Fox Cricket.
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According to Jones, the players and the rest of the members in the l were told to fabricate stories such as to visit a sick family member in Islamabad when asked about officials at the Afghanan Pakan border apart from burning their cricketing jerseys and cricket equipment. The task was carried out local volunteers including some Australians in Afghanan along with some Australian officials as the cricketers arrived in small batches in Islamabad in a process which took months. “That was probably the most stressful part of it. The Taliban had taken over Kabul, but there were a lot of different militant groups that had power over sections all the way along the border as well. ISIS had a section. It was all done under secrecy. We had to do it at different times, all the families couldn’t just leave at once, because it looked too obvious, and then they had to find solid enough stories for when they got to the gate on why they were going to Pakan. Then it was just drip-feeding them through the border,” Jones said.
In 2022, nine of the Afghan players arrived in Canberra with the rest of the cricketers coming to Melbourne. The 19 players are still in Australia and some of the players will be playing in the exhibition match on Thursday. Since the Taliban took over in Afghanan in 2021, the new government has banned women from being in public and competing in any sports. “Horrendous doesn’t cover it. You have nothing to live for. You can’t go to school, no education. There are decrees the Taliban about not speaking to anyone outside your family. You can’t sing, you can’t read poetry, you can’t do anything. It’s getting worse. It’s a prison.” Jones said.
Afghanan Cricket Board had 25 women cricketers under contract in November 2020 after the country had acquired a full member status from International Cricket Council in 2017. The players were preparing to play their first international match against Oman in 2021 when the ban was imposed. “They’d signed their contracts, they were training. It wasn’t all roses, but things were progressing in a way that they were pretty happy with. It was so close. It was just around the corner. They were getting uniforms, thinking that they’d be playing underneath the Afghanan flag and the Afghanan colours a month down the track, only for that to be pulled away.” Jones said.
While Australia does not play Afghanan in bilateral series due to the women’s cricket ban, the two countries play against each other in ICC tournaments. With the Afghan women cricketers finding work in Australia and playing for local clubs apart from competing in exhibition matches like the one on Thursday, Jones is hopeful that the issue will be resolved one day. Story continues below this ad
“They’re loving the fact that they’re playing cricket, they’re loving the fact that they’ve got freedom to go out and express themselves. But there is still severe trauma for them. Physical health, mental, emotional, spiritual, financial, all those traumas. It’s been exceptionally hard.” said Jones.
Thursday’s match will be played ahead of the opening day of the day-night Women’s Ashes Test at the MCG between Australia and England. “It’s really special for us, especially for Afghan women, because this is a very horic moment for Afghan women. We can show, when we play on this ground, we play for Afghanan. This is a win for Afghan women because we have a big hope for this match – this match can open doors for Afghan women for education, sport and the future. Together, we are building not just a team, but a moment for change and progress,” Afghanan XI captain Nahida Sapan told reporters on Tuesday.