A sporting boycott of Afghanistan is the last thing that country needs but the Taliban’s outright ban on women’s sport couldn’t be a clearer breach of the ICC’s stated values
It seemed, at the start of the match, as if Heaven Help Us CC might just live up to their name. The young curate opening the batting was bowled second ball and it was clear that the opposition’s pacy opening bowler – we will call him Khalid, although that is not his real name – was going to be a handful.
Like everyone playing in the Refugee Council XI on Thursday Khalid had been displaced from Afghanistan. Here at Beckenham sports ground he and his teammates were playing a team made up of faith leaders, human rights lawyers and the odd ringer. If you were hunting for an image of sport as a force for good, you would not find one more picturesque: a lush green outfield, a vicar taking a hat-trick, a rabbi fasting in the field; Chris Lewis, the former England all-rounder, donning blue latex gloves and serving refreshments; young refugees finding a place of belonging in their new home.
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