the times | Wednesday December 22 2021 31
News
To donate
Call 0151 284 2336, go to
thetimes.co.uk/
christmasappeal
or use the QR code below
Calls are charged at normal landline rate.
Charges from other networks may vary.
Donations will be administered by the Charities
Trust on behalf of the chosen charities.
Donations may be refunded only in exceptional
circumstances. Ts&Cs applyIt is a cold, crisp night in south London
but the air inside the shed is warm with
the sweat and exuberance of two dozen
young Afghans playing cricket. The
bowlers charge into the two nets with a
whirl of limbs, trying to propel the ball
as fast as they can, while the batsmen
show off aggressive, flamboyant strokes
that you won’t find in the MCC coach-
ing manual. It is a shed full of life and
optimism.
Standing out among his countrymen
— countryboys, really, since at 20 he is
the oldest — is Hamed Niazi, who is
showing off his bowling tricks. A quick
ball here, a canny off cutter there, then
a leg break. He is in his element.
“This is my home,” he says. Though
the words “Proud Afghan” are written
on his shirt, his heart now partly
belongs to Croydon.
It is about 5,000 miles from Alingar
in the east of Afghanistan to here by car.
Google Maps says it will take 89 hours
to drive, helpfully adding “without
Cricket for Change was set up to
support troubled youths after the
Brixton riots. Though the attraction for
the boys is the enjoyment of sport, it
provides a way for the council to offer
them advice and support in a relaxed
atmosphere, as well as hot meals.
“The cricket is the sweetener,” says
Helen Johnson, head of children’s ser-
vices. “Once here, we can then discuss
other problems, such as their asylum
application or help them with their
English.”
They have between 30 and 40 regu-
lars but would love to expand the
project to other sites.
With the council’s aid and encour-
agement, these boys gradually becomemembers of their new society. “For
some success at first is just being able to
sleep without nightmares,” Johnson
says, “then we help them into further
education or to find jobs. One is now
working as a nurse, a lot in delivery jobs.
They are safe and settled and contrib-
uting back.”
Hamed, who had so little English
when he arrived that he would write
what people were saying on his hand so
he could look it up online, is now at col-
lege studying construction. He is also
taking cricket coaching qualifications
and enjoyed being able to watch the
Afghan national team play in the 2019
World Cup here.
Cricket has given him confidence,safety and purpose and taught respon-
sibility and leadership. It has also taken
him to some of the most attractive
grounds in the country, such as
Arundel, Cheltenham and Wormsley.
It is a world away from the bare, baked
pitches he played on as a child.
“What advice do I give boys who flee
the Taliban now?” he asks. “I tell them
don’t worry about what’s going on back
home: that’s been happening for 40
years. Just hope for better, keep work-
ing hard, study and believe in yourself.
I came with nothing; now I have a car
and I have lessons. Above all I have
hope.”
The Refugee Council, with its Scot-
tish and Welsh counterparts, helps
20,000 refugees a year to find food,
clothing and housing, access therapy
and find employment. All donations
will be doubled up to £275,000 by
anonymous donors.christmas
appeal
Cricket gives sense
of refuge for boys
who fled Taliban
traffic” for those worried about conges-
tion on the Istanbul ring road, but it
took Hamed two and a half months
after fleeing the Taliban in 2015. Some
of it was by road, much by rail, but there
were long stretches on foot. “The
hardest bit was walking for 24 hours
non-stop,” he said. He was barely into
his teens.
Hamed left his homeland in a hurry
when the Taliban came after his family.
His father worked for the government
and had been warned of consequences.
One night, they bombed his home.
Then warlords abducted Hamed and
sent him to a madrassa, or Islamic
school. He escaped after two weeks and
fled to his uncle, who realised that he
would be killed if he stayed in the coun-
try and helped him to escape.
On arrival in England, in the back of
a lorry, he was directed to the
Home Office and given a foster home.
During his first week, one of the boys he
met via the Refugee Council invited
him to their Wednesday night cricket
session in Croydon. It was the first
time he had played with a hard ball or
on grass.
The Refugee Cricket Project was
founded as an initiative within the
council’s children’s unit in 2009 but has
its roots going back 40 years to whenPatrick Kidd
Hamed Niazi is taking cricket coaching qualifications after arriving as a refugeePETER TARRY FOR THE TIMES