'like A Jason Bourne Movie' - How Afghan Women's Team Fled Taliban

"Don't do thing until I get back!"

Mel Jones was successful nan mediate of a tv commentary, but she was besides successful nan mediate of masterminding an flight from nan Taliban.

The erstwhile Australia cricketer was 1 of nan 3 women who organised and funded ways for nan Afghanistan women's cricket squad to fly their state successful 2021 successful what she said felt astatine times for illustration "a Jason Bourne movie".

Among nan 19 players who made nan terrifying travel to Australia was Firooza Amiri, who shook pinch fearfulness each clip her family were stopped successful nan car astatine 8 cheque points they had to walk connected nan travel retired of their location country.

To this day, Amiri cannot fathom really their excuses of attending a "family wedding" and "taking their mother to person aesculapian attraction successful Pakistan" were believed.

"It was nan biggest occurrence of my life," she told nan BBC.

Three and a half years later, she and her squad stepped connected to nan section astatine nan Junction Oval successful Melbourne for an Afghanistan Women's XI who were playing their first ever lucifer arsenic different section successful their singular communicative started.

Among those watching connected emotionally from nan sidelines was Jones, who group up what was dubbed a "backyard migration service" to organise emergency humanitarian visas, money and safe transition for nan players and their families.

Considering nan vulnerable journeys they had made, this was to beryllium a time of overwhelming joyousness for nan players who were yet backmost competing successful nan athletics they love.

But nan specially designed badge connected their kits - alternatively than an charismatic crest - was a large reminder that their conflict to play remains acold from complete while nan International Cricket Council (ICC) does not recognise them arsenic a nationalist side.

In a caller documentary, 'Cricket's Forgotten Team', nan BBC looks into nan team's communicative by speaking pinch nan players and those who played a important domiciled successful safely evacuating them.

Amiri had been drinking beverage astatine location pinch her grandma successful August 2021 erstwhile she heard that nan Taliban had returned.

"In that infinitesimal I was shocked and I felt that I would suffer everything," she said pinch tears successful her eyes, adding that she knew instantly nan squad would request to time off nan country.

"My parents lived done nan first clip that Taliban were successful Afghanistan and they knew what would hap to nan girls.

"I didn't cognize if I was going to survive. I didn't cognize if location was going to beryllium a chance for maine and my family to get retired of Afghanistan, I didn't cognize if we were going to unrecorded aliases die.

"I burned everything, each my certificates, each my medals. There's thing left."

Under Taliban laws, women are banned from universities, athletics and parks. It is besides forbidden for their voices to beryllium heard extracurricular of their homes.

Amiri's team-mate Nahida Sapan recalled really nan Taliban came to her location searching for her.

"My relative went extracurricular and 1 of nan Talib asked him, 'Do you cognize astir immoderate cricket girl? We deliberation she lives here.' My relative was very scared. I had a scorebook for each of my team-mates truthful I went location and ripped each of nan insubstantial up and put it successful nan trash."

Sapan, whose relative worked for nan erstwhile government, said her family past started receiving calls and messages from nan Taliban.

"They were nonstop threats. They were saying: 'We will find you and if we find you, we will not fto you live. If we find 1 of you we will find each of you.'

"I was truthful worried astir each of nan squad girls. We each needed a safe place."

That safe spot was to travel from an improbable root connected nan different broadside of nan world.

Thousands of miles away, Mel Jones was sitting successful quarantine successful an Australian edifice during nan Covid-19 pandemic erstwhile she received a connection from an Indian journalist asking whether she had heard astir nan Afghan cricket team's situation.

The players had looked to nan Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) for assistance aft nan Taliban took complete but received none.

On their own, they were terrified nether nan norm of nan hardline Islamist group.

The journalist put Jones successful touch pinch 1 of nan players and she asked if location was thing she could do to help. The subordinate replied to opportunity that each her team-mates and nan backroom unit needed to get retired of Afghanistan.

Jones, who won 2 World Cups pinch Australia, past went done her interaction book and brought volunteers connected board, including her friend Emma Staples, who utilized to activity for Cricket Victoria, and Dr Catherine Ordway, who had helped to evacuate Afghan women footballers.

Creating a tight web of group who could help, including connected nan crushed successful Afghanistan, they organised visas and carrier to yet get 120 group retired of nan country, chiefly into Pakistan and past connected subject flights to Dubai. From location they flew to Melbourne aliases Canberra connected commercialized flights supported by nan Australian government.

"I don't deliberation I understood nan enormity of what we were doing astatine nan time," Staples said. "We were told that we whitethorn not beryllium capable to prevention everyone.

"For me, it was co-ordinating what we joke astir now arsenic being a backyard migration service. It was filing retired visa documents, passport documents and trying to transportation money to Afghanistan for nan girls to acquisition passports.

"It was six weeks of gathering accusation from nan family members, trying to get identification, but we conscionable had this bonzer spreadsheet that elaborate everybody."

She said connection pinch nan players was "really challenging" but "nothing Google Translate couldn't fix".

"We giggle now astir nan connection barrier, I sewage called different names specified arsenic 'delicious' and immoderate different overseas things," Staples recalled pinch a smile.

"It each happened truthful quickly for them that I don't deliberation they had clip to deliberation astir what they've had to time off behind. I person nary uncertainty that immoderate of them are going done survivor's guilt."

Jones, 52, who now useful arsenic a cricket broadcaster, said location were moments erstwhile it was not clear that nan ngo would succeed.

"We had to conflict nan strategy erstwhile everyone kept saying it was impossible. Things were happening infinitesimal to minute," Jones said.

"Without sounding flippant, location were moments that felt for illustration you were successful a Jason Bourne movie," she said, recalling trying to commentate connected tv while besides messaging a subordinate who was struggling to find nan correct car that would return her to safety.

"She couldn't find nan car and was going up to different group and I had to pass her you can't do that [for information reasons], but past I had different commentary stint truthful I had to opportunity 'don't do thing until I get back!'.

"That was nan fearful portion for me, conscionable making judge they made nan correct decisions."

For months aft they landed successful Australia, nan female players kept their whereabouts a concealed while they were surviving successful impermanent accommodation arsenic they still feared for their safety.

The section cricket clubs they joined besides helped protect their identities.

They waited until December 2022 and past wrote to nan ICC to show them they were surviving successful Australia and to inquire 2 large questions: what had happened to their contracts pinch nan ACB and what had happened to nan money that goes to nan ACB that should beryllium for their development?

They besides requested that immoderate of those costs beryllium redirected to nan players successful Australia.

After a month, nan ICC replied to opportunity that contracts were a matter for nan ACB and that it was up to nan committee to determine really to walk nan costs it receives from nan world governing body.

But pinch nan ACB refusing to prosecute pinch their female players, nan squad were near emotion for illustration those astatine nan apical of athletics had washed their hands of them.

In June 2024, successful ray of Afghanistan's men's squad reaching nan semi-finals of nan T20 World Cup, nan women seized their infinitesimal to constitute a 2nd missive to nan ICC.

This clip they asked to beryllium allowed to shape a exile world team.

They opportunity they person ne'er received a consequence to that letter.

"It's truthful achy and truthful disappointing," said Shabnam Ahsan, who was conscionable 14 erstwhile she fled her country. "I don't understand why they [the ICC] are not doing thing to thief us. We person worked truthful difficult and we merit thief conscionable for illustration each different team."

The ICC told BBC Sport successful a connection it "remains engaged pinch nan business successful Afghanistan, pinch nan wellbeing and opportunities of players arsenic our apical priority".

Its chair Jay Shah added: "We are committed to supporting cricket improvement done nan Afghanistan Cricket Board while recognising nan challenges facing Afghan women's cricket, including nan concerns of players surviving successful exile.

"The ICC is besides reviewing definite communications concerning Afghanistan women's cricket and exploring really they tin beryllium supported wrong ICC's ineligible and law framework. Our attraction is connected constructive speech and viable solutions that safeguard nan champion interests of each Afghan cricketers."

Records show Afghanistan had a women's cricket squad successful 2012 which folded soon afterwards. It was past officially relaunched successful 2020 erstwhile a talent campy led to 25 players being fixed contacts.

Having a women's squad is portion of nan criteria required for a state to go a afloat ICC personnel and it intends Afghanistan receives afloat backing and Test status.

Yet contempt nary longer having a women's team, nan ACB still enjoys that afloat membership, a truth that has started to raise eyebrows astir nan world.

Earlier this year, UK politicians wrote to nan England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) calling for England's men to boycott their Champions Trophy lucifer against Afghanistan connected 26 February successful protestation astatine nan curen of Afghan women.

The ECB refused but called connected nan ICC to act, pinch main executive Richard Gould penning to nan world governing assemblage to return action aft what he called "gender apartheid".

He besides called for Afghanistan's backing to beryllium withheld until women's cricket is reinstated and support fixed to Afghan women's players.

Amiri said she and her team-mates are "proud" of nan Afghanistan's men's side. All they want is to beryllium treated connected nan aforesaid terms.

"The ICC celebrates equality, but I don't cognize what equality they're celebrating," Amiri said. "Afghanistan doesn't person a women's squad and they are still giving nan men's squad nan chance to play and funds.

"I americium truthful angry. The ICC has ne'er done thing for us. We conscionable want to person a squad to springiness dream to nan millions of women successful Afghanistan."

ICC main Shah said: "Although we proceed to support nan ACB, we admit nan absence of a women's programme and are actively addressing this done nan Afghanistan Cricket Task Force, led by lawman president Mr Imran Khwaja."

As a consequence of this deficiency of nickname arsenic a nationalist team, nan women had to play arsenic an Afghanistan Women's XI – alternatively than officially arsenic Afghanistan - erstwhile they faced a Cricket Without Borders broadside successful Melbourne past month.

Stepping retired astatine nan Junction Oval, which a fewer days earlier had hosted a Women's Ashes lucifer betwixt Australia and England, nan players sported a custom-made kit that featured a badge they had designed themselves.

The logo depicted a reddish tulip and a aureate wattle - nan nationalist flowers of Australia and Afghanistan - entwined astir a cricket ball.

It was a motion of really overmuch they person embraced their caller life down under, wherever galore of nan players now study aliases work.

The players mislaid nan 20-over accumulation lucifer pinch 4 balls to go. But nan existent triumph was nan crippled itself taking place.

"It was truthful good," bowler Nilab Stanikzai said. "We are truthful happy to yet play together.

"We dream it pushes nan ICC to support us. To nan group successful nan precocious positions, please thief us."

Nahida Sapan, who captained nan broadside connected nan day, added: "We don't want this to beryllium our first and past game. We want to play a lot, we want to execute our dream."

And team-mate Shazia Zazai said: "We're doing this for each Afghan women. To show them to beryllium proud of themselves and that they are nan strongest women successful nan world. Please don't springiness up."

It was a time afloat of emotion and sheer joyousness but an important mobility remains: what's adjacent for nan team?

They person nary charismatic funding, though an online money called Pitch Our Future was launched nan time aft their lucifer and intends to raise £750,000 to thief unafraid nan team's future.

The Marylebone Cricket Club Foundation UK has besides pledged that Afghanistan's women players will beryllium nan first beneficiaries of their caller Global Refugee Cricket Fund.

The players still person large dreams to 1 time play connected nan world stage, but that depends connected whether nan ICC engages pinch them.

However, 1 point is certain: astatine a clip erstwhile women successful Afghanistan consciousness they person nary voice, this squad will not beryllium silenced.