Spotlight on Refugee Cricket Player

Here you can read about the power of cricket and its impact on one of the young people on the Refugee Cricket Project (supported by Cricket for Change, C4C, and the Refugee Council). 

This interview was conducted in 2010 and this young man is now thriving on the C4C Apprenticeship programme.

Can you introduce yourself?
I am 18 years old and from Afghanistan and I have been living in England for 4 years and the rest of my family are out in Afghanistan still - I miss them.

How did you get involved with C4C?
Well, I was really keen to play cricket and the lady that helped me was, Antonia Cohen, at the Refugee Council. She has been like a mother to me and she has helped me feel more settled in England. She introduced me to Danny at Cricket for Change and my cricket started from there.

Where do you play cricket?
I am playing cricket in Plough Lane (the head office of C4C) and I can say that it is a great place to learn from and I am really enjoying it. The indoor school has been great and we now have enough to run a team which is fantastic for all of my friends.

What do others think of your involvement with the C4C?
A lot of my friends have been able to come along to play cricket and they are really enjoying playing at Plough Lane and the Indoor School. I would like to be an apprentice next year (2011) if possible.

What are your cricketing aspirations?
I have an ambition to become a good cricketer and a good coach so I can share my experiences and try and help people. At the moment, I am just looking forward to playing matches with my new team and I can't wait for the summer to come so I can play outside!

If you could sum up your C4C experiences in 5 words, what would they be?

BRILLIANT! FUN! FRIENDLY! RELIABLE! LOVE!

Who is your favourite C4C coach and why?
Of course the only one Danny Baker who is a great sportsman, kind, talented and he shares his experiences with me and teaches me new things. And because of his support I am more interested in playing cricket more than ever.

What has C4C done for you?
They provide us with the opportunity to have training every week which is going very well. And after nets they provide us food as well and we have enough equipment to play and oh yeah another thing is that they are taking us for the tape ball competitions and we have played more than 6 tournaments.

Click here to find out more about the RCP

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