Pressure is mounting on the ICC to act amid the announcement of fundraising efforts to support Afghanistan’s exiled women’s cricketers, who played their first match together this week.

Meanwhile, the MCC and MCC Foundation have set up the Global Refugee Cricket Fund to support refugees worldwide, backed by a £100,000 donation from the ECB and with an initial focus to raise money for Pitch Our Future.

The announcements follow pleas to the ICC to ring-fence funding for the players on the basis that Afghanistan remain full ICC members despite no longer being able to fulfil the requirement to field a women’s team under its Taliban government.

The players wrote to the ICC last July asking for help in establishing themselves as a refugee team. In lieu of a response, they formed an Afghanistan Women’s XI with the help of Jones and a team of dedicated volunteers, and played their first game on Thursday.

Jones was helped by Emma Staples, Cricket Victoria’s Head of Diversity and Community, and Dr Catherine Ordway from the University of Canberra among others, whose efforts resulted in Thursday’s T20 exhibition against a Cricket Without Borders XI.

Jones said that for their first couple of years in exile, the Afghan players feared for their safety if it became known that they were in Australia playing cricket for various club and community sides.

“Now, we want to build a really strong community and high-performance programme around these young women, so they can develop not only as players, but also as coaches and administrators, so that they can stay within the sport and progress,” Jones said.

Pitch Our future aims to raise A$1.5 million for an initial three-year program which will also include education and life-skill support for the players, some of them not even 18 years old when they escaped and many of whom couldn’t speak English when they arrived in Australia.

Meanwhile, the MCC and MCC Foundation have launched the Global Refugee Cricket Fund to support refugees worldwide and with an initial focus to raise money for Pitch Our Future.

The Global Refugee Cricket Fund aims to provide access to facilities, offer education and mentorship, promote advocacy and awareness and build high-performance and community programs for players, coaches and administrators.

Announcing the fund in a press release on Friday, MCC said an advisory board would be set up including representatives from the MCC
Foundation, MCC, ECB, Pitch Our Future, refugee organisations, and community leaders such as Afghan women’s advocates. “The ICC is also invited to participate in this effort,” the statement added.

Aiming to raise £1 million initially, the fund was boosted by the ECB’s donation.

Connor said: “The cricket community must take action, to support the brave Afghan women, and to give hope that cricket can be a sport for any woman or girl. We hope the launch of the Fund will inspire other cricketing organisations to support this cause, and to unlock cricket’s power to unite communities around the globe.”

Dr Sarah Fane, Director of the MCC Foundation, said: “With Pitch Our Future leading the way in Australia, we hope to amplify their efforts and inspire the global cricketing community to join us in making a difference.”