Whitehaven Cricket Club staged a very special game this week with a refugee group taking centre stage.
The game was to mark Refugee Week and the visiting side included members from Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan.
It had started with an approach by the Cumbria Refugees Resettlement Team to the Whitehaven club asking for their help in encouraging refugees to participate in cricket.
Whitehaven’s secretary Arthur Lamb said: “The club is always looking to be involved with the local community and this was an ideal opportunity to promote the club’s inclusivity and diversity policies.”
The resultant match at the Playground was blessed with glorious weather and was played with great spirit and humour.
Both sides included players who represented a wide variety of age groups.
The game produced some top performances, particularly from Whitehaven youngsters Kian Larmour, Thomas Spires, Ellis Dixon, Harley and Amelia Harvey.
On the Refugee team Nael Alshibli, Abdallah and Samir Salame, Bassam, Yazan and Mohamad Fatteh, Idris and Ornit Marko, Abd Al Hadi, Seead Al Hamam, Ziad and Marwan Abdulkareem all gave outstanding performances.
The Whitehaven club is now hoping a similar event can be staged in the future as they look forward to sustaining a successful long-term relationship with the Cumbria Refugee Resettlement Group and similar organisations.
Team manager Allyson Carty and case officers Ken Messenger and Melissa Nicholson from the Cumbria Refugee Resettlement Team were thanked for their help in arranging the game.
