Those involved with England at the 2003 World Cup will feel a sense of unease at history repeating itself as the pressure mounts for a boycott of the Afghanistan fixture at next month’s Champions Trophy.

Fears over the safety of England players while in Pakistan are underpinning English cricket’s refusal to boycott next month’s Champions Trophy match against Taliban-governed Afghanistan.

England’s cricket authorities have rejected calls to boycott an upcoming match against Afghanistan in the ICC Champions Trophy over the Taliban’s oppression of women and girls. Richard Gould, the chief executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB),

South Africa Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie said he supported calls for a boycott of Afghanistan in the Champions Trophy in Pakistan, adding his voice to those of British politicians who have called on England not to play them next month.

More than 160 MPs have called on the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to boycott the upcoming Champions Trophy match against Afghanistan. "a clear signal that such grotesque abuses will not be tolerated."

A group of more than 160 British politicians have called on the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to boycott next month's Champions Trophy match against Afghanistan as a stand against the Taliban regime's assault on women's rights.

England have been accused of making an “appalling and misogynistic” decision by going ahead with plans to play Afghanistan despite fresh calls for a boycott of next month’s Champions Trophy fixture.

England's men's players have the "power" to make their own stand and refuse to play Afghanistan in the Champions Trophy, says Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi.

Richard Gould, the ECB's chief executive, has rejected calls from a group of British politicians for England to boycott their upcoming Champions Trophy clash with Afghanistan in February, saying that the Taliban regime's clampdown on women's rights is a matter that requires a "co-ordinated,