Afghan refugee Nilab Stanikzai is desperate to continue her cricket career in Canberra

The cricket field is one of them.

Having grown up in Afghanistan, the 21 year old was a member of the national women's cricket team.

A professional cricketer who had climbed up the domestic ranks, an international debut beckoned for the emerging bowler. Matches against Oman and the Maldives were in the works.

Then the Taliban captured Kabul in August 2021.

Stanikzai's world changed forever the moment the hardline Islamist group rose to power and introduced strict restrictions on women's freedoms across the country.

Suddenly Stanikzai's safety was at risk on and off the field.

Despite international assurances otherwise, the Taliban promptly banned women's sport and the emerging cricketer's international dreams came to a shuddering halt.

"In Kabul I played cricket at school and slowly I went into higher teams and my family supported me," Stanikzai said.

"The situation in Afghanistan is now very bad. Before the Taliban it was 50 per cent good, but then the Taliban came and now it is very bad."

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Despite watching her dreams of representing Afghanistan come to a halt, Stanikzai considers herself fortunate.

Her family was able to flee the country and eventually received humanitarian visas to move to Australia.

They arrived in Canberra with little more than the clothes they were wearing, the family forced to leave their possessions behind as they escaped the Taliban.

Now living in Narrabundah, Stanikzai is learning English and doing everything she can to create a new life in her new home.

Many family members remain in Afghanistan and it is unclear if they will be able to move to Australia.

"We had to leave Afghanistan because it is so bad there," Stanikzai said. "When I came to Australia I had just one bag of clothes.

"My dad is very happy that we're now in Australia but my mum sometimes cries because my family is still in Kabul."

Despite arriving in a foreign land, speaking very little English and knowing few people in Australia, Stanikzai has found a common bond with many Canberrans.

That shared interest is cricket, an opportunity for the talented bowler to express herself through a language that breaks down all barriers.

Stanikzai is one of thousands of Afghan refugees who have travelled to Australia throughout the past year. Among the group are a number of talented women's cricketers living in Canberra and Melbourne.

The shared experiences and interests has allowed the group to maintain connections with their homeland and form an instant bond.

"I came to Canberra and Australia for the cricket," Stanikzai said. "Australia is a good place, all the people are very nice.

"There are lots of people here who like cricket, the grounds are full with other cricketers."

While cricket has provided Stanikzai a chance to connect with her new community, her dream of continuing her career has struck a sticking point.

The costs of playing the sport in Australia are prohibitively expensive. Season registration fees for female cricketers cost around $300, an unaffordable expense for Nilab and her family.

The funds required to build a club from scratch have also hampered the goal of establishing an all-Afghan team.

With a desire to one day play in the Women's Big Bash League, Stanikzai is eager to start playing as quickly as possible.

"I want to play cricket but it is very expensive to join a club," she said. "I don't have a full-time job and can't save money.

"My dream is to form a club for the Afghan girls here in Canberra. I hope people can help sponsor me to do that."

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