- The Afghanistan refugee women's cricket team is scheduled to tour England this summer to play a series of games, marking a significant event for players displaced by the Taliban's return to power.
- Many of the squad members resettled in Australia after fleeing Afghanistan in 2021, following the ban on women's sport and widespread gender discrimination.
- The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) extended the invitation, partnering with MCC to provide high-quality training facilities, and the team will attend the T20 World Cup final at Lord's on 5 July.
- ECB's Clare Connor and former Australian cricketer Mel Jones praised the team's extraordinary resilience, with Jones emphasising the tour as a major step forward but highlighting the need for sustained action.
- The tour occurs amid ongoing scrutiny of the International Cricket Council (ICC) for allowing Afghanistan's men's team to participate in tournaments despite the absence of a representative women's team, which violates membership rules.
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