Australia are set to postpone the upcoming Test match against Afghanistan indefinitely this week, having called for a reformed approach to women’s sport in the Asian nation.
The match against the Afghanistan men’s team was originally planned to go ahead in Hobart on November 27, and governing body Cricket Australia said earlier this month it would cancel the Test after reports surfaced suggesting the Taliban rulers would not allow women to play cricket.
A spokesman for the body said no decision had been made regarding the fixture on Wednesday, but Cricket Tasmania boss Dominic Baker revealed the plans.
“It’ll be formally postponed indefinitely this week,” Baker confirmed to local radio station Triple M. “That will come out in the next couple of days.
“It's about giving the Afghanistan government some direction around what they have to do to get back into sport.
“It's not acceptable that they don't allow female sport. If they want to play competitive male sport, particularly in the cricket sphere, they have to rethink what they do with female sport.”
Azizullah Fazli, the new chairman of the Afghanistan Cricket Board, told Reuters this month the body were committed to promoting domestic women's cricket and optimistic the Test against Australia would go ahead.
While the match appears unlikely to go ahead as planned, Baker suggested the match may be rescheduled for a later date: “We’re not going to cancel it altogether.”
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The International Cricket Council (ICC) - the global governing body of the sport - will discuss the state of women’s cricket in Afghanistan at their next board meeting in November.
Baker also offered Hobart, the capital of Tasmania, as a potential stand-in venue to stage an Ashes test if needed, with doubts and concerns rising regarding whether Perth will be safe enough to host what will be the fifth and final match of the series.
There is general uncertainty concerning several of the cities listed on the Ashes schedule in Australia due to Covid outbreaks in southern states.
There are also reports that English players are reluctant to tour the country with strict quarantine restrictions in place.
