Labour MPs Alice Macdonald (Norwich North) and Jess Asato (Lowestoft) are in a cross-party group of 160 MPs and peers who have signed a letter urging the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to sit out next month’s fixture.

Norwich North MP Alice Macdonald (Image: Roger Harris / UK Parliament)

They say boycotting next month’s Champions Trophy fixture in Lahore would serve as a moral objection to the Taliban regime’s ongoing assault on women’s rights in the country.

Ms Macdonald said: “We all need to speak out against what the Taliban is doing to the women and girls of Afghanistan”, while Ms Asato said she was “pleased” to be a signatory.

England’s Joe Root (Image: Nick Potts/PA Wire)

Female participation in sport has effectively been outlawed since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, a move that puts the Afghanistan Cricket Board in direct contravention of the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) rules.

Lowestoft MP Jess Asato (Image: UK Parliament)

The letter, penned by Labour backbencher Tonia Antoniazzi, read: “We urge the ECB to consider a boycott of the upcoming match against Afghanistan…to send a clear signal that such grotesque abuses will not be tolerated.

“We must stand against sex apartheid and we implore the ECB to deliver a firm message of solidarity and hope to Afghan women and girls that their suffering has not been overlooked.”

ECB chief executive Richard Gould (Image: John Walton / Press Association)

ECB chief executive Richard Gould said he would “actively advocate” collective action, rather than take a unilateral stand by forfeiting the game.

That stance has received political backing from Number 10, with prime minister Keir Starmer’s official spokesman suggesting the onus remained with the sport’s governing body – the ICC.

“The ICC should clearly deliver on their own rules and make sure that they’re supporting women’s cricket as the ECB do,” said the prime minister’s spokesman.

“The erosion of women and girls’ rights by the Taliban is clearly appalling. We’ll work with the ECB on this issue, we’re in contact with them. Ultimately this is a matter for the ICC in relation to the Champions Trophy.”

As it stands, the game is set to take place at the Gaddafi Stadium on February 26.

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The situation brings back memories of the 2003 World Cup, when Nasser Hussain’s England side forfeited a game against Zimbabwe in protest at Robert Mugabe’s regime.