One of the up and coming cricketers taking part in this years Ara Institute of Canterbury All Nations Cricket Festival is Ghofran Shasawar.

Ghofran moved to New Zealand with his family from Afghanistan two years ago.

Growing up in Jalalabad, the fifth largest city in Afghanistan, Ghofran developed a love for cricket.  He was one of the lucky few to have access to a television and became a huge fan of Mitchell Starc, watching the big Aussie quick for hours.

Although he is a right arm bowler and small in stature than Starc he watched and learned and took to the local parks to practice the art of fast bowling.

Playing all of his cricket in Afghanistan with a tennis ball, it was not until he moved to New Zealand that he experienced playing with aa cricket ball for the first time.

With a basic understanding of English, Ghofran became a student at Cashmere HS and joined the Sydenham Cricket Club. His understanding of English has come a long way, as has his cricket.  

Recently he won the Ara Institute of Canterbury Youth Cricket Performance of the Week for his achievements with the Sydenham Youth 1st XI and was also selected in the Christchurch Metro Under 17 Red Representative team to attend the Regional Tournament in Timaru from 14-17 December.

Article added: Monday 07 December 2020