Afghanistan refugee finds new cricket family and even earns a 'massive go well' from James Anderson

But for one young Afghan refugee, it was where one treacherous 3,500-mile journey finally ended, and a new path of hope and opportunity began.

Syed Sadat, 21, left his family of five brothers and four sisters in his home province of Baghlan back in January 2021.

After a year of travelling through several other countries including Turkey, Iran, Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, Hungary, Austria and France, he eventually reach the UK in July 2022.

England was always his dream location and where he one day hopes to become a permanent citizen and embark on a career that could pave the way for him to see his family again.

And in little over a year, Syed has already been adopted by a new ‘cricketing family’, who helped him settle in Yorkshire, make new friends and gave him the chance to pursue his biggest passion in life.

After the Home Office sent Syed to stay at a Holiday Inn with little more than the clothes on his back and unable to speak the English language, he couldn’t believe his luck to see a cricket ground out of his window.

For several weekends, he took the opportunity to sit on the boundary at Oulton Cricket Club and watch their two teams in action and longed to hold a cricket ball in his hands for the first time since he left home.

He’d also turn up at training nights and voluntarily field in his flip flops and hunt down lost balls. In time, three of the club’s Asian players Rohan Krishnarao, Sagar Shanghavi and Naveed Razzaque got chatting to him to learn of his story and situation before inviting him to join in despite having no equipment, kit, trainers or even a ball.

He said: “When I was watching cricket from the boundary, I was hoping that someone would tell me to come and play cricket, because I heard that in England they pay a lot of attention to the game and this is right.

“When I saw the players near the Holiday Inn, I was so happy when the captain Joseph Sykes gave me a ball! I couldn't sleep all night looking at that ball!”

It didn’t stop with the ball. After impressing everyone with his spin bowling during net sessions, second team captain Rohan raised money through a 50-mile cycle ride around the city to buy Syed equipment so he could become a full member of the club and be able to play in matches.

Despite being moved to Doncaster by the Home Office and with no licence to drive, the club are also paying for his train tickets to ensure he remains a valued member at Oulton.

In a first-team game at the start of the season, Syed took six wickets for nine runs and is currently in the top five wicket-takers at the club, who he has also helped reach two cup finals.

The fundraising efforts, which have also aided mental healthy charity Andy’s Man Club, are now continuing this summer to help pay his legal fees for asylum application in the UK and also for plane tickets to see his family again in Afghanistan.

Rohan, who is swimming 70 lengths in October despite only starting lessons a few weeks ago, said: “I can’t imagine how he has had the strength at such a young age to go through so much adversity but I am very proud to be part of his journey and can only hope that I can help and support him in whatever way I can.”

His story also moved England legend James Anderson when it was read out on the BBC’s popular cricket podcast Tailenders, earning a ‘massive Go Well’ from the team.

Syed added: “When I first started cricket here, I was made to feel welcome but it was very difficult at first because I didn't speak English, but now I speak English a little more. When I got the kit to play cricket from the club, I was very happy and I am very thankful to the club people.

“This is my first ever full season of cricket in England and I have taken good wickets. And in the future I will try to give more good performances, like when I took six wickets! It is a place of pride for me to play for Oulton and I really enjoy it. I tell my family about my matches and they are so very happy for me.”

Syed’s story may well be many levels lower than the money-spinning realms of elite cricket but it’s yet another wonderful reminder about how grassroots sport is such a valuable part of local communities, brings people together and can give life-changing opportunities for all.

If you’d like to donate to Rohan’s charity challenge, click here