In the picturesque surroundings of Roehampton and Fulham Cricket Club in south-west London, the familiar sound of leather on willow rings out among the trees on a summer afternoon.
However, unlike in previous years, local players have been joined this season by refugee boys from Afghanistan who share their love of cricket.
Youngsters expatriated to the UK after the Taliban’s return to power in Kabul last August are proving their mettle at the club, where they have impressed coaches with their skills and enjoyed a string of successes on the field.
The club opened its doors to more than 20 Afghans who last year were staying at a local hotel after being flown out of the Afghan capital on RAF flights under Operation Pitting.
Donations poured in and parents whose children play at the club organised a fund-raiser to cover coaching costs for the boys.
The club offers the recent arrivals a sense of community, certainty and purpose as they continue to wait for long-term accommodation and plan for their future in Britain.
“Most of them just love playing cricket,” Marc Moderegger, who co-ordinates the junior teams, told The National. “There’s a core of about 10-12 of them who would play every single day of the week if you could give them the opportunity.
“They’re much more confident now. They were quite shy to start with. They’re gelling well with the others, they’re all getting along. They were basically bored [in the hotel] and not doing much back at that stage in September. They didn’t have a lot to do.
“My hope is that they’re learning that they can play cricket and that opens doors in terms of being able to meet other people on other teams.”
All-rounders
As well as improving their batting and bowling skills, joining the club has helped the boys integrate into British society and advance their English language proficiency. Learning useful phrases from their teammates is a two-way street, and they too have taught English children how to say basic sentences in Pashto.
Some new members proved to be so talented that they were sent for trials at Surrey County Cricket Club, with eight being accepted.
But despite the warm welcome shown to the boys by the regulars, and their obvious talent both on and off the cricket field, it has not all been plain sailing for the aspiring sportsmen.
Some of them are separated from their families, including parents who are still in Afghanistan, and hotel living is not ideal, particularly for students sitting exams.
“There’s been quite a few mental health issues at times,” Mr Moderegger said. “Sometimes it’s difficult to get them motivated.
“There’s definitely occasions where they’re obviously feeling down and they don’t feel like doing anything. Once you get them to cricket, the challenge is they’re too enthusiastic and they don’t want to leave, but it’s getting them there in the first place. Once you’ve got them to a game or a training session, I can’t remember them ever complaining about having been persuaded to do it.
“They’re all teenagers and there’s a certain amount of surliness that comes with that. Add to that all the issues that they’ve faced, it’s unsurprising that sometimes they have a lack of motivation or desire.”
Dream to play for England
The players who have displayed exceptional skills and leadership qualities have been put forward for training programmes in the hope that they themselves can become coaches and earn a living.
Sahil, 16, is among the players who has convinced those at the club he has a promising career ahead.
“I feel brotherhood playing for this club,” he said. “When I’m on the field I feel like I’m in love of life.
“It’s my dream to play for England. I have to struggle more and work hard. It motivated me more and it helped me.”
Aziz, 18, said he and his peers are grateful for the reception from club members.
“We learnt lots of things here with the club,” he said. “It’s a good thing for us to play in England. We met lots of people here. They helped us, they gave everything to us.”
The idea to integrate Afghan refugee boys into the club came from Ziaulhaq Maliky, who was among the thousands to arrive in the UK last summer. Mr Maliky, who worked as a fixer for British journalists in Kabul before the Taliban takeover, found a job as a coach at Roehampton and Fulham Cricket Club.
He said the changes he has seen in the boys since they attended their first training session last September have been phenomenal.
“When they first came, most of them didn’t know how to speak English, but now, after playing with English boys, they have integrated very well and learnt about their cultures, they learnt about their language and it also taught [the local players] about Afghan cultures and taught them how to speak a couple of words in Pashto.
“Most of these boys, they have a lot of talent.” Mr Maliky said. He hopes the training offered by the club will serve as a foundation for some of the players to carve out a successful future in cricket.
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Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
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New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
Profile
Company name: Marefa Digital
Based: Dubai Multi Commodities Centre
Number of employees: seven
Sector: e-learning
Funding stage: Pre-seed funding of Dh1.5m in 2017 and an initial seed round of Dh2m in 2019
Investors: Friends and family
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
Abu Dhabi GP schedule
Friday: First practice - 1pm; Second practice - 5pm
Saturday: Final practice - 2pm; Qualifying - 5pm
Sunday: Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (55 laps) - 5.10pm
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
A little about CVRL
Founded in 1985 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory (CVRL) is a government diagnostic centre that provides testing and research facilities to the UAE and neighbouring countries.
One of its main goals is to provide permanent treatment solutions for veterinary related diseases.
The taxidermy centre was established 12 years ago and is headed by Dr Ulrich Wernery.
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Starring: Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, Ramzi Maqdisi
Directors: Tarzan and Arab Nasser
Rating: 4.5/5
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More from Neighbourhood Watch:
The design
The protective shell is covered in solar panels to make use of light and produce energy. This will drastically reduce energy loss.
More than 80 per cent of the energy consumed by the French pavilion will be produced by the sun.
The architecture will control light sources to provide a highly insulated and airtight building.
The forecourt is protected from the sun and the plants will refresh the inner spaces.
A micro water treatment plant will recycle used water to supply the irrigation for the plants and to flush the toilets. This will reduce the pavilion’s need for fresh water by 30 per cent.
Energy-saving equipment will be used for all lighting and projections.
Beyond its use for the expo, the pavilion will be easy to dismantle and reuse the material.
Some elements of the metal frame can be prefabricated in a factory.
From architects to sound technicians and construction companies, a group of experts from 10 companies have created the pavilion.
Work will begin in May; the first stone will be laid in Dubai in the second quarter of 2019.
Construction of the pavilion will take 17 months from May 2019 to September 2020.
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
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