Our thanks for this article go to Ben Kosky of the ECB Reporters Network
A stag weekend, a shopping trip, a children’s birthday party? All might well be potential reasons for teams below the echelons of professional cricket to lose players in the build-up to matchday.
It’s far less common to have a player made homeless, or forced to relocate to another part of the country at short notice, yet those are issues that regularly impact on preparations for a Middlesex Mavericks game.
The Mavericks – who were established in north London at the end of 2023 and compete in the Middlesex Development League – are a team made up entirely of refugees seeking asylum, the majority of them originally from Afghanistan.
However, they have also included players from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Somalia – with the language barrier another of many hurdles to be overcome in terms of maintaining team cohesion.
The project was the brainchild of Dharani Thayi, who works for Cricket4London – an ECB-funded programme to make the sport more accessible across the capital – and has strong links with Middlesex’s community delivery team - Middlesex in The Community.
“Initially there were little divisions in the team, depending on the regions they were from and the languages they spoke. Most still have limited English, but they’ve come together nicely as a team,” said Thayi.
“Now they’ve become really good friends, almost a close-knit family and have their own WhatsApp group for planning practice and all that stuff. But sadly a lot of them get moved to different parts of the country every so often.
“Those who get asylum status are given notice and asked to leave their hotels. Our previous captain became homeless before the competition started – it should have been a positive moment when he got his refugee status and right to work.
“Because he didn’t have a roof over his head, he had to go to another part of the country where he knew somebody he could stay with. That keeps happening, it’s one of the biggest reasons our team is constantly changing.”
With the help of local authorities in Islington, Haringey and Barnet, flyers were posted at the nearby hotels housing asylum seekers, drawing between 15 and 20 people to initial training sessions at Finsbury Leisure Centre.
However, the programme rapidly blossomed and Middlesex made their indoor centre at Finchley available for weekly training, while Islington’s Union Chapel church has also played a key role in enabling the players to practice regularly.
The church set up a kiosk at Angel Underground station, providing Oyster cards to the young cricketers – whose minimal Government allowance would be severely dented by return trips to Finchley– and topping those up when required.
“We only had half the sports hall available (at Finsbury Leisure Centre) and that seemed too small because they were bowling at a good pace,” Thayi recalled. “One of them had played for Afghanistan Under-17s, although that was five or six years ago.
“I realised there wasn’t going to be enough space there, but at Finchley we had a chance to get these young people playing on cricket mats and using the bowling machines and lanes.
“The majority of them are self-taught or YouTube-watching cricketers who had never been to a coaching session! Having picked up cricket by playing on the streets back home, they don’t know the intricacies of how to swing the ball each way, but they have beautiful actions and can bowl really fast.”
Since the project’s launch, almost 50 asylum seekers have taken part and the Mavericks currently have a squad of around 16 playing competitive matches at Markfield Park, South Tottenham.
A landmark moment arrived at the beginning of July, when the team registered their maiden win against Enfield CC – and, along with the raw jubilation of victory on the field, there have also been other positive effects for the players.
“Some of them suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) because of all the stuff they’ve been through, but it never affects their game,” Thayi added. “They say ‘when I’m playing cricket I don’t feel any of that’.
“My role is to use cricket as a tool for social impact, to elevate people’s physical, mental and social health – and this is the power of sport. However you’re feeling or whatever your personal circumstances, for that brief while you can forget about everything else and just enjoy what you’re doing.
“One of the earlier games got washed out and the players were so disappointed by that, it was really heartening to see how much they enjoyed the feeling of getting a win and basking in that glory.
“We’re trying to provide them with opportunities and hopefully through playing cricket, they have gained more confidence and some sort of freedom and independence as well.”
