The Girlfriends: Spotlight, E17: Tooba Stumps the Taliban

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Girlfriends: Spotlight

Episode 17: Tooba Stumps the Taliban
Host: Anna Sinfield
Release Date: March 9, 2026
Produced by: Novel for iHeartPodcasts

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Overview

In this gripping episode, "Tooba Stumps the Taliban," host Anna Sinfield tells the extraordinary and harrowing story of Tooba Sawari, an Afghan women's cricket player whose life was upended when the Taliban retook Afghanistan in 2021. The episode traces Tooba’s journey: from aspiring athlete in Herat to hunted refugee, and ultimately, to cricket ambassador in Australia. Blending personal testimony, emotional recollections, and the solidarity of women supporting women, the episode highlights courage, the transformative power of sport, and the enduring fight for women’s rights under unimaginable circumstances.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Fall of Herat and Shattered Dreams

• Scene Setting in August 2021:

  • The Taliban's return to Herat throws Tooba's life into turmoil.
  • Tooba recounts the night she and her mother learned the city had fallen:
    • "I heard lots of the gun sound. I asked my mom, mom, what's happened?" (Tooba, 02:14)
    • "Herat is gone." (Tooba’s mother, 02:30)
  • Panic and heartbreak as the women realize everything has changed—especially for those with public roles like Tooba.

• Immediate Impact on Personal Life and Sport:

  • Tooba’s devastation at the loss of her cricketing future is palpable:
    • "I just sit and say, I'm not gonna use them again. I hold my bat and I was crying on that time." (Tooba, 04:14)
  • Host notes the sudden erasure of women’s rights, education, and career prospects.

2. Tooba’s Early Love Affair with Cricket

• Introduction to Cricket:

  • Tooba is introduced to cricket at school—despite knowing nothing about it—and immediately embraces the challenge.
    • "Without I had any idea about cricket, I say, oh, I would like to play cricket." (Tooba, 06:18)
  • Her competitive spirit and eagerness to try new things shine.

• Cricket as Solace and Passion:

  • Tooba finds joy and meaning in cricket, describing its impact on her life:
    • "Cricket was changing my life...when I hold the bat. It gave me to forget all my sadness, all the pressure." (Tooba, 07:25)

• Navigating Teenagehood and Leadership:

  • She quickly becomes her school team’s captain.
  • Memorable family moments:
    • Tooba to her mom: "I'm the captain, I’m the boss." (09:15)
    • Her mother gives her a grounding piece of advice: "Never feel like you're better than Anima. No, you're not." (Tooba's mother, 09:37)

• Support and Social Barriers:

  • Despite cultural resistance from extended family, Tooba’s parents steadfastly support her dreams.
    • "My mom and my dad was the only people in my life. They said my daughter don’t worry about people." (15:04)
  • Cricket camps serve as spaces for unity among girls of diverse backgrounds.

3. The Taliban’s Return: Danger and Disappearance

• Climbing Danger Levels:

  • With the Taliban searching for women in sports, Tooba is forced to hide her cricket equipment and certificates:
    • "Maybe they find when they find out that I was that much active, then they are not gonna leave me." (Tooba, 20:43)
  • The Afghanistan Cricket Board, previously supportive, abandons its players.

• Hopelessness and a Spark of Rescue:

  • As hope fades, Tooba and her teammates receive contact from Australian cricket academic Catherine Ordway:
    • "Receiving a call from Ms. Katherine...was like a shiny thing that it’s appeared in our life." (Tooba, 21:20)

4. The Rescue Operation and Escape

• Covert Evacuation:

  • Catherine Ordway and allies in Australia engineer a risky escape:
    • Emergency visas, overland routes, and high-stakes checkpoints.
  • Tooba's perilous journey:
    • "It was very hard to pass any police station because everything was under the Taliban control." (Tooba, 23:16)
    • At a Taliban checkpoint, Tooba pretends she’s headed to a wedding to avoid suspicion.

• Arriving in Australia:

  • Tooba arrives after weeks of travel—with little more than hope and one pair of clothes.
  • Isolation and loss hit upon reaching safety:
    • "I just entered the room, lie down in the bed and put the blanket on my head. It was so sad moment for me." (Tooba, 29:11)
  • Cricket teammates connect across cities via WhatsApp, maintaining their bond.

5. Revival and Triumph Through Cricket in Exile

• A New Team in Australia:

  • The cricket community regathers Tooba’s teammates; they form a team recognized locally.
  • Organizing their first official match in 2025 is a deeply emotional milestone:
    • "When we wear like...our cricket uniform...the logo from Afghanistan community and the Australian community." (Tooba, 30:47)
    • One teammate: "Am I dreaming?" Tooba: "No, you’re not dreaming. We are on the field..." (31:53)

• Symbol of Resilience:

  • Tooba designs a new team emblem combining Afghan and Australian motifs.
  • The International Cricket Council (ICC) recognizes and supports the team:
    • "It was so, so meaningful...After four years, finally they accept to support us." (Tooba, 33:53)

• Hope, Representation, and Advocacy:

  • Tooba’s message to Afghan women:
    • "Never give up. I almost lost my hope, but my mom told me...keep your dream alive. One day everything will be changed." (Tooba, 34:33)
  • She vows to show the world the talent and spirit of Afghan women, even as her family remains in Afghanistan.

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Cricket as Lifeline:

  • "Cricket was changing my life...it gave me to forget all my sadness, all the pressure." (Tooba, 07:25)

• On Support and Leadership:

  • "My parents...always encourage me, they always support me." (Tooba, 15:04)

• On the Taliban Regime:

  • "Being caught playing cricket could mean imprisonment, beatings, or worse." (Host Anna, 20:03)

• On Rescue and Solidarity:

  • "That call changed our life." (Tooba, 22:37)
  • "Just go somewhere, we don’t want to stay under this regime." (Tooba, 28:34)

• On Playing Again:

  • "For one run, we are just shouting, 'Oh, good runs, good volley!'...It was like a dream to come true." (Tooba, 31:53)

• On Advocacy and Hope:

  • "All I want to say (is) thank you, ICC." (Tooba, 33:53)
  • "We’re trying our best to be a good representer for Afghan women, for their rights. We will raise our voice." (Tooba, 34:33)

---

Important Timestamps

• [02:14] Tooba learns Herat has fallen to the Taliban
• [04:14] Tooba mourns the end of her cricket dream
• [06:18] Tooba signs up for cricket never having seen the game
• [07:25] Tooba describes cricket as a refuge
• [09:37] Mother’s advice on humility
• [11:06] Call-up to cricket camp and national team
• [14:05] Tooba selected for Afghan national team
• [15:04] Family discord over girls playing cricket
• [19:24] Taliban sweep Afghanistan, Tooba goes into hiding
• [21:20] First outreach from rescuers in Australia
• [23:16] Tooba’s perilous escape from Afghanistan
• [29:11] Post-rescue emotional crash
• [30:47] Afghan team reformed and uniformed in Australia
• [33:53] ICC recognizes and supports the team
• [34:33] Tooba’s message of hope for Afghan women

---

Conclusion

"Tooba Stumps the Taliban" is a story of perseverance, sisterhood, and the undying hope that powers change. Through Tooba’s voice, the episode delivers a powerful reminder: the Taliban may seek to silence women and erase their achievements, but the spirit of Afghan women—particularly those who dare to play, lead, speak up, and dream—cannot be so easily stamped out. Cricket is more than a game for Tooba; it’s a symbol of resistance, identity, and a future reclaimed through courage.

---

(To continue learning about more extraordinary women, check out other episodes of The Girlfriends: Spotlight.)

Transcript

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It's Thursday evening in herat Province, Afghanistan, August 2021. Tuba is at home when she hears something outside that makes her blood run cold.

[F]

I heard lots of the gum sound. I asked my mom, mom what's happened?

[E]

Gun sounds, people yelling. Chaos. There's a lot of commotion outside.

[F]

She told me. Tuba. The Taliban take the Herat province. Everything is under their control. Herat is gone.

[E]

Herat is a Major Afghan city, the third largest in the country. Tuva can't believe that it's all just gone, fallen into the hands of the Taliban.

[F]

I say, what, mom, it's impossible. We have lots of police officers. We have an army.

[A]

We have everything.

[F]

How it's possible.

[E]

Tuba runs to her room and messages her friends.

[F]

I sent a two voice message in WhatsApp group and I was crying on that voice message. I said, herat is gone. They are going to take Kabul. Everything is done, girls. We are done. Our dream is like everything is finished.

[E]

Eventually, Tuba goes to bed

[F]

in the morning. When I woke up Friday morning, you know, the world looks like nothing, nothing left.

[E]

Tuba's life is never going to be the same again. Under Taliban rule, women's rights will be decimated, education gone. The career she had pictured for herself, never going to happen. But that's not what Tuba is thinking about. As the chaos consumes Herat, she's thinking about cricket. What does all this mean for the Afghan women's cricket team? She goes downstairs to where she keeps all her cricket stuff.

[F]

I just sit and say, I'm not gonna use them again. I hold my bat and I was crying on that time.

[E]

What Tuba doesn't know is that someone, a complete stranger a whole continent away, is following her story and will set up a rescue operation that will span continents and change lives forever. Turning Tuba from a national cricket player to an international cricket star.

[F]

Anna.

[E]

I'm Anna Sinfield and from the teams At Novel and iHeart podcasts, this is the girlfriend's spotlight, where we tell stories of women winning. Today, Tuba stumps the Taliban.

[F]

I got you.

[E]

I got you. To understand just how much Tuba Sawari lost that night the Taliban took over. I want to tell you about the rich, fulfilling life she once had in Herat, Specifically the moment Tuba first discovered the sport that would change her life.

[F]

I was interested to follow some sport like I play basketball and football for my school. I love the challenge things. I'm always focusing on something that it's challenge for me.

[E]

Tiba is in her mid teens in a maths class when a woman comes into her classroom.

[F]

She asked, who wants to play cricket? I was, what? What? She is talking about, what's cricket? Because on that time, cricket wasn't that much famous in Afghanistan. Then after she said, who wants to play cricket? Without I had any idea about cricket, I say, oh, I would like to play cricket.

[E]

Tuba isn't joking when she says she loves a challenge. She has no idea what cricket is, but she signs up anyway.

[F]

Then When I came to home, I did lots of research and I found it very interesting. Like it was completely something different and new.

[E]

Tuba falls in love with this complex strategic game. Cricket is kind of like the sport version of a Rubik's cube. It's confusing, intricate and strangely addictive. Matches can go on for five days and still end up in a draw. And believe it or not, those can genuinely be the most exciting games you'll ever see. The fastest bowlers can deliver the ball at speeds up to 100 miles per hour. And of course, every afternoon, all the players put down their bats and stop for tea. It's a game played with a bat and ball, but trust me, it's nothing like baseball. Tuba is hooked.

[F]

Cricket was changing my life and I can't find any words to explain how much cricket is important, how much I feel happy when I hold the ball, when I hold the bat. It gave me to forget all my sadness, all the pressure, everything that I receive from other place or from life. Cricket make my life.

[E]

When Tuba is wading through the treacle of teenage girlhood, cricket is there for

[F]

her, for all the problems. When I'm going to the field, when I do bowling or batting, when even I hold the ball, even I watch any cricket game on tv. Every life have challenges, pressure from study, work. But you need to find something that help you to forget something. But cricket is like that for me.

[E]

Tuba is all in. She has become a cricket nerd.

[F]

After 2, 3 training then I was selected as a captain for this school. I was so happy and feeling to take a lead.

[E]

Do you remember the first game that you played as captain of that school team? Do you remember what it was like?

[F]

I was very seriously made a plan for my team and I say just push my team girls. We need to do this, we need to do this. We need ballers, ball on the line, no extra runs, try to have a good performance. And I was so happy, you know, like I was trying my best.

[E]

After the match, Tuba rushes home to tell her parents.

[F]

I say mom, do you know I'm the captain, I'm the boss, like acting like a boss. Yeah. My mom laughing on me like it was so funny.

[E]

Her mom is delighted, but she has a warning for Tuba.

[F]

Then my mom told me like I don't want my, my daughter from this time, that it's like maybe it's the big responsibility for her, but it's her first step in her life. I, I don't want she act like she is someone very important. She just sending me a Lesson never feel like you're better than Anima. No, you're not.

[E]

It sounds like you're a very natural leader, but your mum was being a classic mum. In the uk, we'd say, making sure that you don't get too big for your boots. Don't think you're too important.

[F]

Yeah, exactly. Same words. Good words for this and good describing. Yeah. I always grateful for my mom because of her experience that she was always sharing with me and helped me.

[E]

And Tuba's parents are super supportive. Afghanistan has had a turbulent history with women's access to sports. Tuba certainly wouldn't have been able to play cricket at school when the Taliban had ruled for the first time during the 1990s. Heck, she probably wouldn't have even been at school. But by the time Tooba first picks up a cricket bat in 2015, that's all in the past. The country's changed a lot and Tuba is making the most of it. Which is when the Afghanistan Cricket Board make an announcement.

[F]

They say, we are going to invite some of the good players from each province to attend the camp in Kabul for 18 days. Six players they selected from Herot, which is my city. We went to Kabul, we had a coach, and 18 days comes with other girls from different cities.

[E]

So for nearly three weeks, Tuba and these other girls are playing cricket all day, every day. Afghanistan is made up of a number of different ethnic groups, so some of these girls don't even share the same language. But cricket becomes their connection.

[F]

It feels amazing when we are playing together and the people that we are not in same culture, not in same religion, not in same language, we are still supporting each other. We are going in the field like we are a family member. That's why they say cricket or any sport brings people together.

[E]

This camp is utopic, a women's cricket utopia, where young women from all over the country come together to knock down wickets and also just be girls. Do you remember any special moment in particular from the cricket camp? Is there a moment that stands out in your memory each single day?

[F]

That or single minute that I or my teammate spent in cricket camp? It was fantastic and amazing time for all of us because it was the first time we came together, we played together. When we came in the afternoon from the cricket practice, we divided who wants to dishes, who must to cook, and we had just one bathroom in the morning. We need to be ready at 7 or 8 o' clock in the morning. I had one teammate, she Woke up at 5 o' clock to get the turn for the Stay on the line for the bathroom to be ready for the cricket turning. And we had one player. She was so fond of the makeup. When she come from the cricket practice she started to make up herself. She put lens. I don't no foundation. I have like I don't have more information about the makeup. Oh my God. What are you doing? As much I love in cricket but she had in makeup.

[E]

It's great to find your passion, whatever that is. Three days before the camp ends, the coaches make a very big announcement. They're reading out the names of players to be part of Afghanistan's national team.

[F]

And the second or the third person they read my name Tuba. Oh my God. Am I selected for the national team? I was so happy. They say you are selected as a member of the national cricket team. When I came back to Herat province I said mom do you know what she thought that we are going to just for practice. Then I say mom I'm one of the players that I selected to play for Afghanistan. She was so happy. She hugged me and said I really proud of you. I never imagined that one day my daughter in this situation that Afghanistan has selected or play or represent Afghanistan.

[E]

But the celebration doesn't last long. While her parents are bursting with pride, the extended family has a very different reaction.

[F]

All my relatives say like in bad way in negative comment to my dad that's not nice of the girls to do this. But my mom and my dad was the only people in my life. They said my daughter don't worry about people. My parents, they are the only people. They always encourage me, they always support me.

[E]

Despite some criticism, Tuba's dreams are coming true. She's representing her country, playing the sport she loves, surrounded by her cricket sisters. Cricket becomes her world training matches. Dreams of a tournament, a normal life for a young athlete. Until that Friday evening in August 2021 when everything changes forever. After the break, the Taliban retakes Afghanistan and Tuba's world collapses.

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I've got you. I've got you. Got you. I've got you. I've got you. I've got you.

[E]

In August 2021, the Taliban make a sweeping return across Afghanistan and in a lightning bolt offensive start taking one city after another. Tuba's hometown of Herat Falls soon after the Taliban take the capital, Kabul and the entire country is theirs.

[F]

When the Taliban took over Afghanistan, the first city that they took was my city, Herod Province, the place that I born.

[E]

I mean it sounds just heartbreaking the idea of you looking at your cricket bat and just crying, thinking, I'm not going to use you anymore.

[F]

When my brother went to outside, he come to home and he say, the Taliban, they are looking for those people that they had and esports. When I heard that, I just hide all my cricket equipment.

[E]

The Taliban don't just oppose women's sports. They systematically erase women from public life entirely. Under their rule, girls can't go to school or university. Women are banned from most jobs and are even prohibited from parks and gyms. Being caught playing cricket could mean imprisonment, beatings, or worse. And now they're actively looking for women who are involved in sports education or government work. Tuba's room is full of certificates marking her achievements, evidence of a life that's now dangerous to have lived because I was scared.

[F]

Maybe they find when they find out that I was that much active, then they are not gonna leave me.

[E]

And when the country's government collapses, the Afghanistan Cricket Board, the organization that gave these women contracts and dreams, seems to have simply abandoned them for months. Tuba and her teammates are trapped. Their dreams are dead, their futures uncertain, their safety constantly at risk. They've lost almost all hope.

[F]

When we almost give up for everything. Receiving a call from Ms. Katherine or the way was like a shiny thing that it's appeared in our life.

[E]

And that shiny thing that appeared in their life is Catherine Ordway, an Australian academic and former cricketer who has been following Tuba and her teammate's story.

[F]

She said that I know you're in difficult situation and it's very hard for you guys to trust anyone in this situation, but please trust me. I want to help you guys. Just tell me, how is your going?

[E]

Tuba can't explain just how awful the situation is, but she's very clear that they are not okay. So Catherine Ordway, alongside a team of guardian angels that includes cricket stars and fans, make a plan. They know that the Taliban have the team members names, photos, addresses, and phone numbers. The women are in huge danger, and they can't leave fellow cricketers stranded. They are going to get Tuba and her teammates out of Afghanistan.

[F]

That call changed our life.

[E]

They work feverishly and secretively for months, navigating a legal and administrative labyrinth until they eventually manage to arrange emergency Australian humanitarian visas for Tuba and her teammates. Then they devise an evacuation route for each of them out of Afghanistan. By this point, the airports are shut, so it'll have to be overland. They ask Tuba to leave her parents behind and travel from Herat to Kabul, then to the Pakistan border with nothing but hope that she'll make it safely to the other side.

[F]

It was very hard to pass any police station because everything was under the Taliban control. When I came from Herat to Kabul, Kabul to Turkham, Turkham to Islamabad.

[E]

At one point the Taliban pulled them over.

[F]

The Taliban stop us and ask us where you are going.

[E]

They pretend they're crossing the border to attend a wedding and will come back.

[F]

I came with one pair of shoes and one pair of dress, nothing else because I didn't want that the Taliban notice or find out. If we take lots of things, they think, oh, they are going to leave Afghanistan.

[E]

Every checkpoint is terrifying. Every police stop could be the end.

[F]

It was a long journey and very challenging journey for us. Everywhere is tolerable and they celebrating that they took Afghanistan, that they are celebrating that, yes, we are empowered now we can ban women from everything. The hardest moment for me when I face them, you see someone that because of them you leave everything, even you live your dream.

[E]

Tuba makes a long car journey across the mountainous border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Tuba and her teammates travel separately in different cars and on different days to avoid suspicion.

[F]

When we came to Pakistan we will stay for 14 or 15 days in Pakistan and after that we divided in different groups and by the Australian government helping. We came from Pakistan to Dubai and at 9 o' clock am in Dubai time we came to Melbourne.

[E]

This was 2021. So when Tuba arrives in Australia, she needs to go into Covid quarantine in a hotel room for two weeks.

[F]

It was very hard to stay in one room for 14 days, but it was better than to stay in Afghanistan for that situation.

[E]

Tuba has escaped the Taliban, but now she's in a foreign country where everything is new. Far away from her family, far away from everything she knows. Quarantined in a hotel room after the break, Tuba refuses to accept that she's all bowled out.

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[E]

When Tuba lands in Australia, Catherine Ordway and the team that have arranged for her evacuation are there to meet her. Tuba's safe, but she's also completely overwhelmed by what she's left behind.

[F]

On that time, the main things that we were focused on it just leave Afghanistan, just go somewhere we don't want to stay under this regime, under this government, this power. When I arrived in Australia on that time, I really felt like, oh Tuba, you leave everything behind yourself, you know, because I was scared.

[E]

She's flown more than 7,000 miles to a place where she hopes she'll be safe. The weight of it all brings her to tears.

[F]

I just entered the room, lie down in the bed and put the blanket on my head. It was so sad moment for me.

[E]

Tuba's teammates are scattered across different Australian cities, some in Melbourne, some in Canberra, some in Sydney. But they stay connected through WhatsApp groups like they did back in Afghanistan, and they meet up when they can.

[F]

They come in my place or other my teammates place and visit each other.

[E]

And did your relationships, did they change?

[F]

No, nothing has changed. We have the same feeling with each Other even more than friends, because now we understand each other very well, the challenges that we face together.

[E]

For years, the team exists in limbo. They're grateful to be safe in Australia, but they're not officially recognised by cricket authorities. They can play locally. The Guardian Angels, who help them to escape, also set them up with cricket teams in their areas. But they're no longer the national team and they can't represent Afghanistan. Then in 2024, the Australian cricket community steps in once more. Not only Catherine, but people like Mel Jones, who's a celebrity former cricketer. They get Tooba and her fellow teammates to come together and register as a team again. Their first match is set in January of 2025, organized by the charity Cricket Without Borders.

[F]

We were together on the field and oh my God, I can't find any words to explain how special it was for us, how amazing it was for us. When we wear like the of our cricket uniform, our T shirt that saw our name and the logo from Afghanistan community and the Australian community.

[E]

This emblem on their shirts tells their story perfectly. Designed by Tuba herself, it features symbols from both Afghanistan and Australia intertwined around a cricket ball.

[F]

It's a symbol that, yeah, like something related to Afghanistan and Australia. It feels like we have someone here in Australia that they care about us.

[E]

Walking out onto that field feels surreal.

[F]

One of my teammates, she asking me things. She said, am I dreaming? I say, no, you're not dreaming. We are on the field, we are going to play with each other. You know how much we support each other. For one run, we are just shouting, oh, good runs, good volley, supporting each other. It was like a dream to come true.

[E]

This moment, standing on a cricket field in Melbourne, wearing their team colors, playing together again. It's everything they thought they'd lost forever.

[F]

And I notice how much it's important, how much it's nice to play with your own team, how much it encouraged you, how much it gave you a positive energy to go to field with your own teammates and represent Afghanistan. Maybe like our government, they don't accept us to play or represent Afghanistan, but whole the world know that we are Afghan women's cricket player.

[E]

The team spend a week together in

[F]

a Melbourne hotel and in the morning we went for breakfast or dinner. How much that time is special. One night we went to outside and walking in the lake with each other, with our teammates and it was the best moment in our life.

[E]

Afterward, each player goes back to her city where she's resettled. But they do still get to train together sometimes. And recently there's been even more good news. The International Cricket Council, the icc has announced that they're going to support Tuba and her team with some professional coaching, training facilities and game plans.

[F]

It was so, so meaningful decision that ICC made it for our team and we are really appreciate after four years, finally they accept to support us. And yeah, we are so excited and all I want to say thank you icc.

[E]

For Tuba, this recognition represents something much bigger than cricket. It's validation that they never gave up, that their dream survived, even when everything else was taken from them. And what is your hope for the future for yourself, for Afghanistan?

[F]

I would like to say for the Afghan women, never give up. Never give up. I almost lost my hope, but my mom told me, tuba, you are not that person to give up. Keep your dream alive. One day everything will be changed. I know, I completely understand this is the hardest situation for them and just we are trying our best to be a good representer for the Afghan women for their rights. We will raise our voice and hopefully, hopefully one day something change. And for me, I want to represent my country as much I can. I just want to show for the world that the Afghan women, they have talent. They have this capability to play any sport, to achieve whatever they want.

[E]

Tuba's family is still in Afghanistan, but she is pursuing her dreams of playing cricket professionally in Australia. And the ICC has recently announced they will help Tuba and her teammates play in the international standard stage. And hopefully that will pave the way for Tuba to represent her country again. And represent she does as surely one of cricket's most passionate and endearing ambassadors on or off the field. Well, I mean, I have to say, Tuba, I've never paid much attention to cricket or thought about watching it or playing it, but I feel completely inspired. I feel like you could get anyone interested in the game. You described it so beautifully.

[F]

Everything. To be honest, it was from my bottom of my heart.

[E]

Thank you so much for this conversation, Tuba. And I cannot wait for your cricket game to be one of the first ones that I ever watch. I'll be cheering you on. If you've enjoyed this conversation, you can find loads more incredible women on our feed. Do check them out and please do spread the word and tell your friends about us. We want as many people as possible to be part of the Girlfriends gang. Next time on the Girlfriend Spotlight, Antonia Pickett's the Lusty Lady. Your naked body, like, closer than you and I are right now to our screen. That's how close they were to your body filming it. And it was just like oh hell no. This season we're supporting the charity Womankind Worldwide. They do amazing work to help women's rights organizations and movements to strengthen, strengthen and grow. If you'd like to find out more or donate to help them secure equal rights for women and girls across the globe, you can go to womankind.org UK. The Girlfriend Spotlight is produced by novel for iHeart podcast. For more from Novel, visit Novel. The show is hosted by me, Anna Sinfield. This episode was written and produced by Al Shaybani with production support from Maddie Hickish. Our assistant producer is Lucy Carr. Our researcher is Zayana Yusuf. The editor is Hannah Marshall. Max o' Brien and Craig Strachan are our executive producers. Production management from Joe Savage, Cherie Houston and Charlotte Wolf Sound Design, Mix dancing and scoring by Nicholas Alexander and Daniel Kempson. Music supervision by Jake Otyvic, Nicholas Alexander and Anna Sinfield. Original music composed by Louisa Gerstein and Gemma Freeman. The series artwork was designed by Christina Lemkuhl. Willard Foxton is Creative Director of Development. Special thanks to Katrina Norville, Carrie Lieberman and Will Pearson at iHeartpodcast as well as Karlie Frankel and the whole team at wme.

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