Closing shot

An Afghan woman poses with her cricket bat in a burqa for fear of reprisals from the Taliban, who have banned women and girls in the country from playing sport. It is part of a series of photographs taken by the Associated Press of women with the equipment of the sport they love. The Australia men’s cricket team recently pulled out of a one-day international series in Afghanistan because of the Taliban’s policies, which now include banning girls and women from education.