By Andy Stockhausen, ECB Reporters’ Network
As harrowing images of terrified Afghans fleeing the Taliban were beamed into living rooms across the UK in the summer of 2021, Gloucestershire County Cricket Club head of community Pete Lamb was already asking himself what could be done to help.
More than 2.6 million displaced Afghanis left the country in the immediate aftermath of the withdrawal of Western military forces, 17,000 of whom have since been offered sanctuary in Britain.
Bristol's authorities threw their doors open to hundreds of refugees, many of whom have been put up in hotels across the city since the summer of 2021.
Aware of the importance of cricket in daily life in Afghanistan, Lamb harnessed a shared passion for sport to build bridges and serve as a vehicle to help refugees better assimilate into a new way of life in a strange land.
Fast forward to September 2022 and more than 100 young Afghanis were to be found seated inside Bristol's Seat Unique Stadium eagerly awaiting the start of play in last week’s LV= Insurance County Championship First Division fixture between Gloucestershire and Warwickshire.
They are the beneficiaries of a scheme that has seen Gloucestershire's community department join forces with neighbouring South Bristol College and local businesses to help support the city's latest influx of refugees.
Lamb said: "It first came about last year as we were all seeing tortuous imagery of people fleeing Afghanistan and then coming up through Europe and into the UK.
“The influx of Afghans, generally young men, into the country was harrowing and made us think 'what can we do to help, how can we get involved'?
"Anybody can take the stance of let's try and put a few quid together, but as a cricket club, I felt we were obliged to do a bit more. There are three loves in a country like Afghanistan - religion, food and cricket.
“That being the case, I felt we needed to be playing some part in supporting those who were arriving in this country. This was by going out there and asking 'how do we start to build these bridges'?
"We had a range of people from those who had just started at schools to those who had literally fled Afghanistan, arrived here with nothing at all and were being put up in hotels across the city, where they were cooped up 24 hours a day. All they wanted to do was talk cricket."
Lamb took the initiative to first make contact and then forge closer links with newly-arrived Afghanis.
He explained: "We initially spoke to our charity partners and to Bristol City Council, then made contact with a charity called 'Bridges for Communities' to ask what can we could put on to help?
“We began by finding some sports hall space and an hour a week. Then we made contact with English speaking Afghans to say, 'this is what we can do for you, this is where you need to come,' to get the message out there.
"We offered an hour of cricket, followed by some food and an hour in which to pray. We wanted to give them an opportunity to make the most of their time away from the hotel.”
Gloucestershire have been hosting visiting parties of Afghans throughout this year and Lamb and his county colleagues are already putting plans in place for the future.
He added: "We'd like to keep things going during the off season and are working in co-ordination with the local City of Bristol College.
“There has been a huge increase in the number of young Afghan boys attending there. Our intention going through this winter is to give some hall space for the college, so as they can play some cricket.
“We would like to combine that with some classroom learning here to broaden our engagement."
Gloucestershire's cricketers have responded to the needs of the refugees, supplying kit and equipment as well as specialist coaching at the County Ground's indoor school.
"We've already put aside some kit to give to the college, so these youngsters can start their cricket journey," said Lamb.
"Once the season has finished, we will be sorting through the players' kit to see if there is anything more we can offer.
"The refugees have all seen street cricket back home, but hardly any of them have seen a proper game live. We've invited them to watch some cricket at the County Ground, hoping to inspire them with the venue and the game itself.”