- [Babar] It was beautiful place, except the war.
- [Rafi] I think if it was not cricket,
I don't know where I would be now.
I think it really helped me and the other boys.
- [Antonia] I really admire it, as a sport,
for the fact that it reflects life.
And, weirdly, I've found that it's become
incredibly useful for explaining to children what stage
they're at in their asylum process.
I'm very grateful to cricket for that.
- [Babar] When I came here first in 2009, I was going to
this place in Brixton called Refugee Council.
I was going there for my English classes,
and Antonia was there.
- There was just this sea of teenage boys and I have to say
my heart absolutely sunk because that revealed the fact
to me, which I hadn't known at all, that were such a thing
as separated children seeking asylum in the UK.
- I was 14 when I arrived to the country.
- My friends all coming into this cricket project and
they said to me, "Go on, give it a try and come and see."
- I was nervous because it was my first day.
I couldn't even speak a word of English
but when I saw Afghans, people that were speaking
my language, I was fine.
- At the time that I started doing this
very informal cricket activity,
there was a very high proportion
of children arriving from Afghanistan.
So that sort of directed me
into the Afghan community, as it were,
and they are passionate about cricket.
I naively thought bat, ball, park, surely all those things
are possible and that it'd be easy to organise
but many a grey hair later, I realised
that's not quite the case.
Jamilu, nice to see you.
Did you want to play this week?
- [Offscreen] I didn't play last week.
- I know you didn't play last week because
you've hardly been here at all.
I'll put your name down as a possible, okay?
Norrega, I can spot that you're trying to be terribly
well-behaved which is very good but it doesn't
necessarily mean I'm going to pick you.
Kareem, do you want to play?
- [Offscreen] (mumbles)
- He's not playing tomorrow.
So Ghaith Matulla, you can play this week.
Okay, Alleyns want you to play for their first again
on Saturday, so you're getting lots of cricket.
- Yes, fine.
- Okay, so I want you to show a good example and practise
in the nets to make you even better, okay?
They're ordinary children in extraordinary circumstances
and they've had to endure experiences which no one,
let alone a child, should have had to endure.
- [Babar] It took me eight months
to get here from Afghanistan.
I was 12 that time.
- [Mati] I still remember the fields.
It's very green, the place I where came from.
Most of the families had like two, three cows and sheep.
People had a lot of love.
- [Babar] It was beautiful place, except the war.
I came here because of my safety.
Those three months were like 30 years.
- [Rafi] Walking in the mountains for like 48 hours,
we couldn't even carry anything because it was too heavy.
I remember them throwing away food and everything.
Only thing was bottle of water.
Sleeping on the stone, there's no pillow,
there's nothing comfortable.
I've seen people dying in front of me
and I can't do anything about it.
I had to just move on.
- [Mati] The things that we have been through,
it doesn't go away just like this.
- [Babar] When I arrived I'd just turned 13 that time.
But when I made it, I was very happy.
- There are a lot of Afghan kids around
and they'll sort of spot each other.
Or they'll overhear somebody speaking a language
they understand and then they'll approach them
and they do bring them along.
First of all, you're very welcome.
My name's Antonia.
Because I don't know what standard of cricket you play,
I can't necessarily put you into the match today.
So I think it's probably likely that
you'll be practising in the nets, okay?
We have lots and lots of boys.
There's only 11 people in a team
and sometimes we have 40 or 50 boys.
It's a game that's taken me a great number
of years to learn about
But it is a game of strategy
and there's lots of choices to be made.
If you place a fielder in one position,
it means you've got a gap the other way.
There's gonna be pros and cons to everything
and I do think that equips people well for real life.
Next week we've got a match and I will ring you all up
about that but it's quite a special match,
it's a bit different from normal.
I really admire it, as a sport,
for the fact that it reflects life.
And, weirdly, I've found that it's become
incredibly useful for explaining to children what stage
they're at in their asylum process.
I can usually make an analogy.
And seeing a child who's absolutely in a fog
suddenly I might, if I have a flash of inspiration,
see a parallel from a stage of a cricket match.
And it's just lovely because then the light comes over
their eyes, "Oh, okay, I understand it now."
- I was around 15
when I started going to the cricket project.
When I arrived, I couldn't speak English
so we were using the interpreters or sign language.
- [Antonia] I can remember exactly
the first time I saw Mati.
He just looked like an ordinary kid to me
but I soon realised that he was an exceptional young man.
- [Mati] When I turned 17 and a half, I sent my application.
They were refusing most of the people who were close to 18.
- Nearly all children under 18 are granted a form of leave
that allows them to stay but without refugee status.
But then it exposes them to the risk of being returned
to their country when they get to 18.
- [Mati] I had a lot of friends which were deported.
We were playing on the same team,
the same school, same college.
- He once said to me, "Everywhere I turn, there's a bar.
"There's bars stopping me from moving forward."
There was never the intention to give them advice
in relation to their asylum claims.
But it soon became apparent that at the end of each session,
they would come to me with pieces of paper and say,
"What do I do about this?" or "Can you help me with this?"
Did you understand? You did, okay. Great, excellent.
Captains, can you count how many you've got on your team?
You have got clothes to change into, okay.
Saeed Omar, I'm gonna put you in to the team, okay?
Guys, do you want to go and put your kit on?
- Should we say start at five or ten to five?
- I think five.
Ghaith, you're going in first, aren't you, to bat?
- Yeah.
- Okay, so you be really sensible.
Don't go for glory.
Do you know what that means?
- Yeah.
- Okay, good.
Right. Let's go and look at some food.
The system doesn't give them the message
that they're welcome on the whole and
yet it is their home because they have no other.
Often they're very happy in foster arrangements and
that feels like home but they know that'll come to an end.
So it's a very chopped up sort of existence.
- When I went to the home office, they took me
to the foster care family straight away.
And my foster care was a good supporter of me as well.
I was removed from the foster care to a semi-independent
when I turned 18 and I remember the day when
I was leaving the house, I was crying.
They were always there for me.
I still have a very good relationship with them.
Still when I walk up the hill to
their house, I forget everything.
I always think I'm going home.
- [Antonia] I'm very proud that Rafi's got
to university, graduated.
He's one of the peer leaders of the project.
He's a really excellent role model.
They get a year older ever year so the boys,
lots of them are no longer boys.
They're young men but I hope you'll forgive me if
I continue to call them the boys.
They've become unwitting ambassadors for their country
and for asylum seekers and refugees in general.
Do you remember last year we played against
some people from the Church of England?
- Yeah.
- Do you remember we played them?
Sahidur Ali, have you got credit on your phone?
Norega, I'll let you know, okay?
- [Offscreen] Alright, thank you.
- Okay, and could I have an interpreter?
Nematola, could you come and interpret?
- I was away from school for one year when I came here first
and that was because all the schools were full.
So I had to wait for the next year.
- I've known Babar since, I think, 2009.
He was in my class and it was a real red-letter day
if I got him to remain in the class area
for more than 15 minutes at a time.
But I knew he was very bright and he was
just incredibly disturbed and quite unable to focus.
And he was out of school for ages
and he knew that was wrong.
- [Babar] Once I went to school,
it was kinda a new thing for me.
Going to school in this country and seeing people
from different backgrounds but then with time as I went
to school and college and met new people.
I have friends now which are kinda family to me.
- Today's really exciting.
One of our teams is playing a team
that I call the mixed clergy.
- [Boy] The players will be mix of imams
and vicars and rabbis.
- It's a tail.
- I think we'll bowl.
- You wanna bowl, good for you.
- Good luck. - So you guys are gonna bat.
- Cricket has great power to join the faiths up.
We're not focusing on the difference.
We're focusing on what unites.
Wish us luck.
- When they go and play these matches,
they are seen as sportsmen first
and as asylum seekers and refugees second.
So he got 37?
So who's gone in now? Hamid?
Okay.
- [Man] They're lovely lads and they're really talented.
It's a good environment, good atmosphere.
And that's what you need for people to kinda build bridges
and to have a chat and have a talk.
- We let it go a little bit but it's a very fast outfield
and if our batsmen come off, we have an outside chance
of pulling off the run chase.
(mumbles)
Do you want me to throw a couple of balls at you
to practise a little bit?
- [Man] I was batting with Rabbi David Mason and there's
quite a quick opening bowler and we didn't know quite what
to do with him and then luckily the umpire called out,
"change your bowler" so David said, "there is a God."
And then the change bowler's even faster.
I think the other funny thing I've learned today is whatever
your faith, when you get out, it's still really annoying.
Unfortunately, we lost but, you know,
that is also part of life.
- [Rafi] Whatever happens in the field,
at the end of the game you shake hands.
I think if it was not cricket,
I don't know where I would be now.
- One of the boys once said to me,
"I see life differently now."
And I said "Do you think you would see things
differently from the way your father did?"
And he said, "Yes."
And I think that's very challenging for them.
I think anybody would find it challenging.
- [Babar] Even now when I tell people,
they ask me where I'm from,
I tell them London.
Of course, I haven't forgotten
my own culture, my own homeland
but the things I know in my life and the peaceful life
I have now is all from London.
- I often think about their mothers
because of the sacrifice they made.
Women who've been recently widowed, which is probably
the crisis event that caused them to be sent away
to a place of safety.
Yet you lose first your husband then
usually your eldest son.
It's just very difficult to imagine.
- I finished school, I finished college.
I'm training to be a cricket coach now.
- When it comes to the cricket project,
I feel happy and privileged now to help out.
It's for those people that are new in this country.
It's mainly about helping people out that are in need.
- I'm very happy to say that I am a British citizen now.