Downing Street asks ICC to ‘deliver on own rules’ over Afghanistan boycott calls
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Downing Street has called on the International Cricket Council to “deliver on their own rules” as the England team resists pressure to boycott their forthcoming match against Afghanistan. A cross-party group of over 160 MPs and peers have signed a letter urging the England and Wales Cricket Board to sit out next month’s fixture at the Champions Trophy in Lahore as a moral objection to the Taliban regime’s ongoing assault on women’s rights in the country.
ECB chief executive Richard Gould responded by saying he would “actively advocate” collective action rather than take a unilateral stand by forfeiting the game. That stance has now received political backing from Number 10, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s official spokesman suggesting the onus remained with the sport’s governing body.
The terms of ICC membership have been directly breached by the abolition of women’s sport in Afghanistan, grounds for possible suspension, but their men’s have now been permitted to take a place in three global tournaments in the past 18 months. “The ICC should clearly deliver on their own rules and make sure that they’re supporting women’s cricket as the ECB do,” said the PM’s spokesman.
“That’s why we support the fact that the ECB are making representations to the ICC on this issue. “The erosion of women and girls’ rights by the Taliban is clearly appalling. We’ll work with the ECB on this issue, we’re in contact with them. Ultimately this is a matter for the ICC in relation to the Champions Trophy.
