Afghan cricket team in Australia in 2021–22

Last updated

Afghan cricket team in Australia in 2021–22
  Flag of Australia.svg Flag of Afghanistan (2013-2021).svg
  Australia Afghanistan
Dates 27 November – 1 December 2021
Test series

The Afghanistan cricket team were scheduled to tour Australia in November 2021 to play a one-off Test match. [1] It would have been the first Test match to be played between the two teams. [2] Originally the match was planned to take place in December 2020, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [3] In May 2021, Cricket Australia confirmed the rescheduled dates of the match. [4] However, in September 2021, Cricket Tasmania confirmed that the match would not be taking place following the Taliban offensive in Afghanistan, due to the Taliban not supporting women's cricket. [5]

Contents

Background

Originally the Test match was scheduled to take place in December 2020, [6] at the Perth Stadium. [7] On 28 May 2020, Cricket Australia confirmed that the one-off Test match would be a day/night match. [8] [9] In July 2020, Cricket Australia also confirmed they were doing everything to ensure that the match goes ahead, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. [10] [11] Originally, the Test match was scheduled to start on 21 November 2020, [12] [13] but the fixture was pushed back to 7 December 2020 due to the rescheduling of the 2020 Indian Premier League. [14] However, in September 2020, the match was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [15]

In August 2021, following the Taliban offensive in Afghanistan, concerns were raised about the match taking place. [16] In September 2021, Cricket Australia admitted that they did not have answers about hosting the match, [17] but the Afghanistan Cricket Board's CEO, Hamid Shinwari, said that their team would be travelling to Australia following the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup. [18]

In September 2021, Hamid Shinwari said that the Afghanistan women's cricket team were training in an exclusive female-only centres. [19] However, the Taliban Government's deputy head of the Cultural commission, Ahmadullah Wasiq, said that it was not necessary for women to play cricket. [20] The next day, following the speculations regarding women's cricket in Afghanistan, Cricket Australia announced that it might not been host the Test match, [21] if those speculations were true. [22]

In November 2021, Cricket Australia confirmed that the Test match had been postponed following the forementioned speculations, [23] but hoped to play the match in a future season. [24]

Only Test

27 November–1 December 2021
Scorecard
v
Match postponed
Bellerive Oval, Hobart

Related Research Articles

The Afghanistan men's national cricket team represents Afghanistan in men's international cricket. It is a full Member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) with Test, One-Day International (ODI) and T20 International (T20I) status.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sharjah Cricket Stadium</span> Test cricket stadium in the United Arab Emirates

The Sharjah Cricket Stadium is in Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. It holds the record for being the venue that hosted the highest number of international matches, 294 matches, up to March 17 2024. It was originally constructed in the early 1980s and has been much improved over the years. The stadium hosted its first international matches in April 1984, in the Asia Cup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ICC World Test Championship</span> Cricket competition

The ICC World Test Championship (WTC), is the biennial Cricket tournament organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It is not an ICC event. The competition Played in Test format, contested by ICC members' senior men's national cricket teams, determining the Test champion of the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup</span> Seventh edition of the ICC Mens T20 World Cup

The 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup was the seventh edition of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, formerly known as the ICC World Twenty20, a Twenty20 cricket tournament that took place from 17 October to 14 November 2021. The tournament was formally hosted by India, with matches played in Oman and the United Arab Emirates. It was scheduled to be hosted by Australia in 2020 but later postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019–2021 ICC World Test Championship</span> Cricket championship

The 2019–2021 ICC World Test Championship was the inaugural edition of the ICC World Test Championship of Test cricket. It started on 1 August 2019 with the first Test of the 2019 Ashes series, and finished with the Final at the Rose Bowl, Southampton in June 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020–2023 ICC Cricket World Cup Super League</span> International Cricket League

The 2020–23 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Super League was the first edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup Super League, a One Day International (ODI) league. The league took place from July 2020 to May 2023, and served as part of the 2023 Cricket World Cup qualification process.

The Australian cricket team were scheduled to tour Bangladesh in June 2020 to play two Test matches. The Test series would have formed part of the inaugural 2019–2021 ICC World Test Championship. In September 2019, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and Cricket Australia confirmed that the series would go ahead.

The 2019–20 international cricket season was from September 2019 to April 2020. 29 Test matches, 78 One Day Internationals (ODIs) and 145 Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is), as well as 23 Women's One Day Internationals (WODIs) and 61 Women's Twenty20 Internationals (WT20Is), were scheduled to be played during this period. Additionally, a number of other T20I/WT20I matches were also scheduled to be played in minor series involving associate nations. The season started with India leading the Test cricket rankings, England leading the ODI rankings and Pakistan leading the Twenty20 rankings. In the women's rankings, Australia women lead both the WODI and WT20I tables. The 2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup in Australia took place during this time, starting on 21 February 2020, with hosts Australia winning the tournament for the fifth time.

The 2020 international cricket season took place from May to September 2020. 15 Test matches, 49 One Day Internationals (ODIs) and 40 Twenty20 International (T20Is) were scheduled to be played during this period, as well as 8 Women's One Day Internationals (WODIs) and 9 Women's Twenty20 Internationals (WT20Is). Additionally, a number of other T20I/WT20I matches were also scheduled to be played in minor series involving associate nations. The season started with Australia leading the Test cricket rankings, England leading the ODI rankings and Australia leading the Twenty20 rankings.

The 2020–21 international cricket season took place from September 2020 to April 2021. 29 Tests, 49 One Day Internationals (ODIs), 50 Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is), 17 Women's One Day Internationals (WODIs) and 21 Women's Twenty20 Internationals (WT20Is) were scheduled to be played during this period. Additionally, a number of other T20I/WT20I matches were also scheduled to be played in minor series involving associate nations.

The 2021 international cricket season took place from May 2021 to September 2021. 13 Tests, 56 One Day Internationals (ODIs), 45 Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) were scheduled to be held in this season. The final of the 2019–2021 ICC World Test Championship took place in June at the Rose Bowl in Southampton, England, with New Zealand beating India by eight wickets. The 2021–2023 ICC World Test Championship started in August 2021, with India's tour of England.

The 2021–22 international cricket season took place from September 2021 to April 2022. 29 Tests, 111 One Day Internationals (ODIs), 112 Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is), 25 Women's One Day Internationals (WODIs), 40 Women's Twenty20 Internationals (WT20Is), and two women's Test matches were scheduled to be played during this period. Additionally, a number of other T20I/WT20I matches were also scheduled to be played in series involving associate nations.

The Bangladesh cricket team toured Sri Lanka in April and May 2021 to play two Test matches. The Test series formed part of the inaugural 2019–2021 ICC World Test Championship.

The Zimbabwe cricket team toured Australia in August and September 2022 to play three One Day International (ODI) matches. The ODI series formed part of the inaugural 2020–2023 ICC Cricket World Cup Super League. Zimbabwe last toured Australia in the 2003–04 cricket season to play two Test matches and an ODI tri-series along with India. In May 2022, Cricket Australia confirmed the fixtures for the tour, with all the matches taking place at the Riverway Stadium in Townsville.

The Afghanistan cricket team toured Zimbabwe in June 2022 to play three One Day International (ODI) matches and three Twenty20 International (T20I) matches. The ODI series formed part of the inaugural 2020–2023 ICC Cricket World Cup Super League. In April 2022, Zimbabwe Cricket confirmed the fixtures for the tour. The following month, the tour itinerary was changed slightly, bringing the matches forward by one week and reducing the number of T20Is from five to three.

The 2020–21 Sheffield Shield season was the 119th season of the Sheffield Shield, the Australian domestic first-class cricket competition. On 26 June 2020, Cricket Australia confirmed all the squads for the 2020–21 domestic cricket season. Cricket Australia also confirmed that the tournament would use the Kookaburra ball for all the matches, after using the Duke ball since the 2016–17 season. New South Wales were the defending champions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cricket</span>

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused disruption to cricket around the world, mirroring its impact across all sports. Around the world and to varying degrees, leagues and competitions have been cancelled or postponed.

The New Zealand cricket team toured Pakistan in September and October 2021, and were scheduled to play three One Day International (ODI) and five Twenty20 International (T20I) matches. It was New Zealand's first tour of Pakistan since 2003. However, on the morning of the first ODI match, New Zealand Cricket (NZC) raised a security alert with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the Pakistan Government, which resulted in the entire tour being called off.

The 2021–22 Sheffield Shield season was the 120th of the Australian inter-state domestic first-class cricket competition. Queensland were the defending champions.

The 2021–22 Marsh One-Day Cup was the 53rd season of the official List A domestic cricket competition played in Australia. New South Wales were the defending champions.

References

  1. "Australia-Afghanistan Only Test to be held in 2021". Afghanistan Cricket Board. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  2. "'Helping hand': Afghanistan optimistic historic Test will go ahead". The Sydney Morning Herald. 15 May 2020. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  3. "Australia-Afghanistan one-off Test to be held in November 2021". CricBuzz. 20 December 2020. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  4. "Australia's Test drought poses possible Ashes problems". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  5. "Cricket Tasmania say Afghanistan Test will be officially called off this week". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  6. "Men's Future Tours Programme" (PDF). International Cricket Council. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  7. "Cricket Australia India tour 2020: Optus Stadium, Perth, overlooked". News.com.au. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  8. "Dates set for India, Afghanistan Tests". Cricket Australia. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  9. "National team to play Test against Australia at Perth in November". Afghanistan Cricket Board. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  10. "Adelaide quarantine camp firming ahead of India Test series". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  11. "World Cup call paves the way for summer like no other". Cricket Australia. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  12. "Adelaide to host India for pink-ball Test in December". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  13. "Afghanistan To Play Test In Australia In 2020 Under New FTP". Tolo News. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  14. "Afghanistan set to play December Test against Australia in Perth". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  15. "Australia-Afghanistan Test postponed due to Covid-19 scheduling difficulties". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  16. "Tasmania Premier has concerns over Australia-Afghanistan Test in Hobart". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
  17. "Doubts grow over Afghanistan Test, Cricket Australia 'don't yet have answers'". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  18. "Afghanistan likely to host Australia and West Indies for T20I tri-series in October". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  19. "Afghanistan women's cricket in danger after Taliban's reported opposition". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  20. "ICC concern as Afghanistan's women's cricket team unlikely to be granted playing permission". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  21. "CA to cancel Afghanistan Test over Taliban stance on women". Cricket Australia. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  22. "Cricket Australia will cancel Afghanistan Test if women excluded from sport". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  23. "Cricket Australia confirms official postponement of Test match against Afghanistan". Nine Network. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
  24. "Cricket Australia confirms postponement of Afghanistan Test". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 5 November 2021.