A sporting boycott is the last thing Afghanistan needs but the Taliban’s outright ban on women’s sport couldn’t be a clearer breach of the International Cricket Council’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 the opposition’s pacy opening bowler – we’ll call him Khalid, although that’s 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 side 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 wouldn’t 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.
