Australia’s top cricket official has defended his country’s decision to play against Afghanistan at the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cups while cancelling all bilateral series against the South Asian side due to the Taliban’s crackdown on women’s sport.
Cricket Australia (CA) chairman Mike Baird said on Thursday he was “very proud of the position we’ve taken” after the departing boss of the ICC accused them of hypocrisy.
“We’ve taken a position, and we’re proudly standing up where we think we should,” Baird said.
“There’s all types of lines you can draw. We’ve drawn a line.”
Former ICC chairman Greg Barclay said Australia should have walked away from World Cup games against Afghanistan if they wanted to take a stand against the Taliban’s clampdown on women’s rights.
“If you want to make a political statement, don’t play them in a World Cup,” Barclay told the United Kingdom’s Daily Telegraph newspaper.
“Sure, it might cost you a semifinal place, but principles are principles. It’s not about having half a principle,” he added.
Australia have in recent years refused to play bilateral series against Afghanistan, citing discomfort at the ongoing Taliban’s policies on women’s participation in sport.
But they continue to face Afghanistan in major tournaments and have played them at both the ICC’s one-day international World Cup in November 2023 in India and the ICC T20 World Cup in the United States and the Caribbean in June.
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