England v Afghanistan: Boycott not the way to go, says captain Jos Buttler
Calls for a boycott grew louder as the cross-party letter was sent in early January. Labor MP Tonya Antoniazzi said England players should use their “power” to “make a difference”.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the government was in dialogue with international counterparts on the issue, but Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy later said Says the game should go onadding that a boycott would be “counterproductive.”
She told the BBC earlier this month: “They’ve taken away the opportunity that sports fans love to have to impose harsh penalties on athletes and athletes who have worked very, very hard to get to the top of their game.”
The International Cricket Council (ICC) stipulates that a condition for full membership is the possession of a women’s cricket team and a pathway structure.
However, the Afghan men’s team was allowed to participate in the ICC tournament seemingly without any sanctions.
The International Cricket Federation is keen to use its status and the sport of cricket to effect change in the country and believes it should not punish players because of government policy.
European Central Bank chief executive Richard Gould has written to the International Criminal Court calling on the global governing body to do more in the wake of what he calls “gender apartheid”.
He stopped short of calling for an immediate boycott but did ask the ICC to put “immediate conditions” on Afghanistan’s full membership status to provide women’s cricket by a specific date.
