How a love of cricket has helped two boys fleeing the Taliban find a new community in quiet Yorkshire village of Cawood

Just two years ago teenagers Fahim and Ajjaz were fashioning bats out of tree branches, using a makeshift ball to play the game they both loved. After harrowing journeys across Asia fleeing persecution from the Taliban, the two 17-year-old have been fostered together in the picturesque village near Selby.

Now they are making a name for themselves in the North Yorkshire cricketing community, becoming star players of Cawood Club.

To team chairman Matthew Stead, theirs is a "shared passion" for cricket, while the boys said they have been shown a tremendously warm welcome.

"I’ve been playing cricket since the age of three," said Ajjaz. "I used to play all day long in the streets and mountains of Afghanistan.

"Our love for the sport always remained. Since playing for Cawood I feel so happy. I now have aspirations to one day become a professional cricketer.”

The boys, who fled their homeland separately and only met one another once arriving in Leeds, have now formed a "brotherly bond" and are fostered by villager Jenny Scanlon.

They are now excelling in their language courses and have become great ambassadors for York College, she said. She is proud not only of the boys’ sporting talents, she added, but has immense admiration for their focus and determination.

“Fahim and Ajjaz have faced extraordinary challenges in their young lives and watching them flourish and develop has been uplifting," she said. "It has not been easy for them. Each and every day has been a steep learning curve."

Ms Scanlon went on to say that providing a home for Fahim and Aijaz has been one of the “best things” she has done.

“I’m so proud and delighted with the progress that they’ve made so far. It’s not been easy because of the language barrier, but it’s been a mutually enriching experience and it has opened my eyes to things I’ve never contemplated before.”

Fahim, from a city called Jalalabad, and Ajjaz, who lived in Baghlan, had not met before they arrived in 2022 as unaccompanied asylum seeking children.

There is a national shortage of foster carers across the UK, North Yorkshire Council has said, and there is an urgent need for more to help support others like them.

Coun David Chance, whose responsibilities include refugee and asylum issues, said: “It’s so pleasing to see Fahim and Ajjaz doing so well. Despite the challenges faced by the boys, they are humble, admirable and embracing life in England.

"North Yorkshire has welcomed asylum seekers for many years, we take great pride in resettling and welcoming refugees so I am grateful to the Cawood community for making the boys feel at home.”