Cricketer Firooza Amiri says her team will "represent millions of women in Afghanistan who are denied their rights” when the side reunites after more than three years for an exhibition game in Australia on Thursday.

There is growing pressure on England to boycott February’s Champions Trophy match against Afghanistan, but for those living under Taliban rule cricket provides “a moment of peace in a lifetime of struggles”.

A Twenty20 cricket contest featuring a women’s team made up of refugees from Afghanistan who now live in Australia may “only” be an exhibition game, but it could be the beginning of something much more.

The warning comes after the Biden administration secured the release of two Americans. Secretary of State Rubio is threatening Taliban leaders with a “very big” bounty after he heard that there are more Americans being held in Afghanistan than previously known.

Americans Ryan Corbett and William W. McKenty III were freed, their families said. The Taliban said Khan Mohammed, an Afghan serving a life sentence in California, was released.