Paine’s Afghan warning

ASUTRALIAN Test captain Tim Paine believes teams could refuse to play Afghanistan at the T20 World Cup if the International Cricket Council doesn’t stop them from playing in the tournament next month.

Paine said Australian players were “fully supportive” of Cricket Australia’s stand against Afghanistan that is set to cost Tasmania a historic match between the nations.

On Thursday, CA said it would have “no alternative” but to cancel the one-off Test in Hobart in November because of the Taliban’s hard line stance against women playing not just cricket, but any sport.

The ICC will discuss the issue at its next board meeting.