A Shirt With A Story Behind It
At Lacuna Sports, we have always believed that the right kit can help athletes perform at their best. Designing the official UK tour match and training kit for the Afghan Refugee Women’s XI has been a deeply humbling experience and a powerful reminder that sport is about so much more than performance. It’s about opportunity, belonging and the freedom to compete.
For all of us at Lacuna, this has been one of the most meaningful projects we’ve ever had the privilege to work on. The Afghan Refugee Women’s XI represents a remarkable group of women whose determination to keep playing cricket has inspired people around the world.
Forced to flee Afghanistan after the Taliban banned women and girls from participating in sport, many of the players rebuilt their lives in Australia thanks to the tireless efforts of former Australian international Mel Jones, Emma Staples and many others who helped evacuate the squad and keep their cricketing dreams alive.
When the opportunity came to design and produce the team’s kit, we knew this was about much more than creating a playing shirt.
Designing Kit For The Afghan Refugee Women’s XI
Working alongside Mel and members of the Afghan cricket community in Australia and the UK, our design team embarked on a collaborative journey to create kit that reflected the players’ identity, culture and resilience, while meeting the demands of elite women’s cricket.
‘From the very first conversations, it was clear how important this was,’ says Leigh Burns, Founder. ‘We weren’t simply designing cricket kit. We were helping create something that reflected these women’s identity, culture, resilience and pride. Every conversation, every design decision and every detail was meaningful.’
Lacuna was trusted with the project because of our specialist expertise in women’s and girls’ cricket clothing, our collaborative approach and our understanding of the importance of designing kit that respected the players’ culture while allowing them to perform with confidence.
From The First Fitting To The First Win
With tight production deadlines ahead of the team’s opening fixture, the process included detailed consultations and continuous collaboration to ensure every garment was suited for every player and purposefully designed. Every detail was carefully considered so the players would feel comfortable, confident and proud every time they stepped onto the field.
The result was an emotional moment when the squad received their official UK tour match and training kit on the eve of their opening game.
Hearing how much they loved the kit made every late night worthwhile. Even better, they celebrated their first appearance wearing Lacuna’s official tour kit with a victory.
More Than Kit
For everyone at Lacuna, this partnership has never simply been about supplying clothing. It has been about helping create a level playing field for women who have fought so hard for the right to play the sport they love.
‘It has been a genuine privilege for every member of our team to help bring this vision to life,” Leigh concludes. ‘Mel and Emma were incredibly passionate about making sure these women had the right kit, designed specifically for them by specialists in women’s cricket clothing. To have been trusted with that responsibility has been a huge honour.’
‘The kit is the final product, but it’s everything behind it that makes this project so special,’ she says. ‘If we’ve helped these women feel confident, proud and able to represent themselves on equal terms, then we’ve achieved exactly what we set out to do as a business.’
As the Afghan Refugee Women’s XI continues its inspiring journey, we couldn’t be prouder that they will do so wearing the match and training kit we created together – a symbol of resilience, identity and the power of sport to change lives.
