Those involved with England at the 2003 World Cup will feel a sense of unease at history repeating itself as the pressure mounts for a boycott of the Afghanistan fixture at next month’s Champions Trophy.
Two decades ago it was left to England players to make a call on pulling out of a World Cup fixture against Zimbabwe in Harare over the policies of the Robert Mugabe government.
The team, led by Nasser Hussain, were put under intense pressure by politicians to boycott the game but were left in the head-spinning position of grappling with an issue they did not really understand without the backing of the government or their board. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) feared a fine, the British government refused to order the team to boycott the match, a move that would have insulated them from a points deduction or fine.
After days of intense team meetings at the Cullinan Hotel in Cape Town, which left some players in tears, the team voted to pull out of the fixture. No other team backed them up. “What’s the discussion? Just play in Zimbabwe,” Muttiah Muralitharan told Hussain. England were docked points and went out of the tournament.
It was vowed at the time by those in charge of the ECB that cricketers would never be put in the same situation again.
But here we are 22 years later with England players facing the same pressure from a new generation of politicians to take a moral stand on their behalf. In 2003, then prime minister Tony Blair urged England not to go to Harare despite the fact British businesses were still operating in the country.
“We’ve made it quite clear to the cricket authorities that we believe that they should not go. I hope they take account of our advice. Whether they do so or not is a matter for them,” he said.
Peter Hain, the noted anti-apartheid campaigner and then a member of the Blair government, asked the players to “show some moral backbone” by refusing to play in Zimbabwe.
History is repeating itself as Labour MP Antoniazzi says ‘it’s in the players’ hands’
Move forward to the present day and Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi, who sent a cross-party letter to the ECB calling on them to boycott the fixture, ramped up the pressure on the players on Tuesday. “The power lies in the team. The power lies in the people that play the sport. The power lies with them – it’s in their hands. How big is England cricket? It’s huge. They have a huge standing in the world of sport and they do have an influence, and I want them to realise that that influence is what they should use to make a difference.”
Sound familiar? Will the Pearl Continental hotel in Lahore replace the Cullinan hotel? Will England agonise the same way they did 20 years ago?
The reality is England have very little influence over the ICC and its approach to Afghanistan. Within the ICC, the sphere of influence lies in India, not England. To understand cricket’s dynamic, you need to remember the colonial history of the sport. The more England pushes for a boycott, the less likely it is to happen.
India have been pivotal in the rise of Afghan cricket
India have played a massive role in the rise of Afghan cricket, providing a home for the men’s team and high-profile positions in the IPL. India are the only Big Three nation to play a Test against Afghanistan. There is no sign of that support sliding and it is their backing that has led the ICC’s approach to Afghanistan, turning a blind eye to their banning of women’s cricket despite it being one of the requirements of full member status.
Now Jay Shah runs the ICC, taking over as chair in December and wields more power than any of his predecessors because of his family links at the top of the Indian government. It is he whom the ECB hopes will make a decision. It is he whom Keir Starmer was addressing when he said yesterday it is time for the ICC to “deliver on their own rules”.
Shah can point to the ECB and Cricket Australia’s hypocrisy over the Afghanistan issue. They have been quick to announce they will not hold bilateral series, which are money-losing enterprises anyway and not scheduled in the future tours programme. An easy win. But both teams have played Afghanistan in World Cup matches over the past 18 months, rather than risk a much harder stance and its consequences in a global tournament.
One of the issues England face is security. In 2003 the players were spooked by a letter from a Zimbabwean action group threatening their families if they fulfilled the World Cup fixture.
Calling for a boycott could imperil the safety of the players
Now England are conscious of the fact they play Test cricket in Pakistan where they are guarded by hundreds of security staff. England played a Test in October in Multan, a city that is very close to the Pakistan Taliban areas and is a recruitment ground for the group. Supporters and media travelled with armed guards because of this risk. Calling for a boycott of the Afghanistan fixture could imperil the safety of players when they go to Pakistan and play in a city like Multan. This is a risk no other sport faces.
Over the next few weeks Jos Buttler, the captain of England’s white-ball team, will feel similar pressure that Hussain experienced all those years ago. The issue is building towards another crunch decision. In his autobiography, Hussain described it as the “most traumatic time of my life” but was later proud of the choice England made at the Cullinan hotel.
A few days after the Taliban swept back to power in 2021, Hamid Shinwari, then chief executive of the Afghanistan Cricket Board, told Telegraph Sport from his office in Kabul: “We want to build girls’ cricket, we are committed to building facilities, so they can play as long as our cultural requirements are met.”
Between conducting the interview and it appearing in print, a matter of about four days, he was sacked by the Taliban, who seized control of the ACB. Its female players went into exile. In the intervening three-and-a-half years, the ICC has vacillated and done nothing, just like it did over Zimbabwe, and once again it is left to cricketers.
Article courtesy of
Source link
