An exhibition match in Melbourne today carries meaning far beyond the boundary for the Afghan players, who are hopeful this is just a first step to playing regularly
Afghan delight as women return to the field
As Firooza Amiri and Nahida Sapan walked down to the boundary this week at Melbourne's Junction Oval, where today they will play an exhibition game as part of an Afghanistan XI, the excitement on their faces was shining bright under the scorching sun.
But one could also see a sense of awe unable to find cover behind it. This is the opportunity the Afghan women have been waiting for. But there is also a realisation that it is more than just a game of cricket that they are going to be part of and of the magnitude of the cause they will be representing on the day.
"We are extremely happy and we are all feeling very proud," Amiri told reporters.
"As we are going to step into the field on the 30th of January, we are going to represent millions of Afghan women who are in Afghanistan and denied their rights.
"It's very special for all of us to get back together after three years, leaving everything and losing everything back home in Afghanistan and come together again.
"So it's going to be very exciting for all of us to play together."
Amiri and Sapan are amongst a group of former Afghanistan Cricket Board-contracted players who escaped to Australia as refugees after the Taliban took over their country in 2021.
The two have been based in Melbourne along with eight other Afghan players, while another group has set up base in Canberra. This is the first time the two sets of players will see each other since settling in the two cities three years back.
The Canberra-based group has been training together for over two years with the help of ACT Meteors contracted player Chelsea Moscript.
Moscript was asked by Cricket ACT CEO Olivia Thornton to coach the Afghan women after she moved to Canberra on her return from Japan, where she was working with the Japan Cricket Association for two years after completing an internship facilitated by Cricket Without Borders – the organisation that will field a side to play the Afghanistan XI on Thursday.
While the aim of Moscript's bi-weekly training sessions was to keep the players engaged and motivated to play for their clubs by giving them a space to come together, the atmosphere changed when the exhibition match was announced.
"The feeling, the buzz that these girls have, once this game got announced, training just lifted another level and everyone was so much more excited because they feel like they've got something that they're training for," Moscript told cricket.com.au.
While there were challenges earlier on with the Afghan women only starting to learn English after moving to Australia, Moscript's time coaching in Japan helped her ace it.
"Just little things like using a lot of body language, using really simple words," Moscript talked about the techniques she used to overcome the language barrier in the early days.
Canberra-based Benafsha Hashimi noted that having cricket clubs in close proximately of where they are living has made life in Australia easier.
"I know we're playing in the different clubs, but it's still fun and it's saving our time," Hashimi said.
"We practice every Tuesday with Chelsea, and on that one day we all came together and share whatever we learned together. It's fun, we're making fun, making some mistakes and correcting mistakes."
The Melbourne-based players too have found different clubs to call home – Amiri plays for Dandenong, while Sapan has turned out for Carnegie.
While the excitement of reuniting and playing in a team is running high amongst the two groups, from a cricket point of view, putting together the work they have been doing individually will be a challenge.
The group from Canberra arrived in Melbourne on Tuesday and they had a team connection session before their first training.
"Everyone's been doing their own trainings and cricket will, you know, cricket will happen on the day," Moscript said when asked how the pieces will fall together with two days of team training.
Moscript said there were "a few really handy players to look out for".
"I'd love to just say everyone, but I think for me being a leg-spinner, I love watching Zia," she said. "She is a fantastic leg-spinner. She can spin the ball both ways, beat both sides of the bat. She really thinks about the game.
"The other person, who I actually went on a Cricket Without Borders tour to Fiji with, is Benafsha. Now, Benafsha is probably one of the biggest characters in the team. I mean, they're all so passionate about it, but Benafsha will certainly be out there giving it her absolute all. And she'll just be running around and probably cracking jokes and trying to convince the umpire to make the right decision, whichever is on her side."
You can see the character Moscript talks about in Hashimi's answer when asked about her interests outside of cricket.
"Actually, cricket is my passion. So, I do play 24/7, all the time. And there's no stop. I can't stop playing cricket all the time. I want to go to play cricket and practice. If it's not my practice there, I will go to other clubs. I will request if they allow me to practice with them. I will practice with them or even I will go with the boys," she told the media in Canberra.
Now that they have this opportunity to play together, all that the Afghan players are hoping for is that this isn't the only chance they get.
"We don't want to have the first and last match. We're going to go further from that match and get more opportunity to have some more experience on the field and do our best and show our talents," Hashimi said.
The sentiment was echoed by Sapan in Melbourne. "We want to play more games and also we don't want that this will be our first and last match."
The desire to have more such matches in the future is driven not just by the simple joys of playing cricket but also by a recognition of the ability of these games to act as a platform to put a spotlight on the cause of all Afghan women.
"When we play in a ground like Junction Oval, we play for Afghanistan, it means a lot for Afghan women, because with this, they can, we can hope. Actually, we have a big hope from this match, because this match can open doors for Afghan women for education, sport and future," Sapan said with pride in her voice.
"We are building not just a team, we are building a movement for change and improvement."