Arch44 wrote:I moved to Kilburn last season to play a season with a mate. Our Agrade and half the Bgrade have Afghan heritage and there is some very talented players amongst them and they are mostly nice guys.
The Agrade were premiers in LO2 which was great. The issue I had was they weren't all financial and some players were given club shirts for the GF and they still didn't wear them in the premiership photos.
As a whole I didn't enjoy the season in the Bgrade as training was farcical with guys coming and going as they pleased, sitting down for a chat during training, having their own training away from the club on a different night, some training in jeans and thongs, no white shirts in sight, game days they would car pool(which is fine) but regularly late or right on start time, there was no promotion to those that performed or dropping of those who were underperforming, a few would hang in the car park in the back of a van playing cards and having drinks instead of using the big clubrooms, I would struggle to name 3/4 of the Agrade premiership side looking at their photos, yet we had to accept it because I was told the club is on the right track.
I think the success of the Agrade and the 2 seasons previous by the Bgrade is masking the issues that are there and will come back to bite them.
These issues to the club are not new, but Kilburn has a slightly different situation, its not as if they took in guys looking to use a club for there own social team, the area itself is now a multicultural community and requires the club to help accommodate it, it has been in waves, at times it was very successful and the balance was right, as I believe the onus is on a club to make the community feel welcome. At other times the relationship was strained because integrating the cultures was not seen as a huge priority by the club, with out that support it managed to whether away, but as I said it happened in waves and managed to rebuilt.
But I stress again, this is Kilburn and its demographic, I've spent many an hour with the Afghanis and I can say that if the time is given in a constructive way with tolerance and respect it will be given back, but it needs to be a directive of the club to make this work and use the local multicultural ambassadors to help achieve it if it seems hard or strained at times, also a great place to discuss the financial nature of things as they often have stepped in and helped deal with these issues. At times What we perceive at times as a lack of interest or respect towards the club is often a misunderstanding on their behalf of how we view the importance of a club and its culture as a playing group. I would suggest reaching out to some of the lads who have been there several years to help bridge any gap you are feeling there is. I know the current coordinator will leave no stone un turned to try and create the right balance, The club itself in recent years has also really managed to increase the impact it has and the involvement of the local community.
But without the Afghans, Kilburn cricket would off ceased years ago.