Years ago, Tareq and his family left their home in Bangladesh to New York City, US. Tareq was only 12 years old then.

    In Bangladesh, Tareq's dad was a farmer. He worked hard for little pay. Every day, Tareq walked 6 kilometres to school. After school, he had to work on the farm.

    But Tareq had fun. He loved singing and playing cricket (板球) with his friends. One day Tareq's dad told him they would move to New York City. Tareq's dad found a new job there, and he thought life would be better there.

    In his new school, Tateq tried his best to understand his teachers, but it was quite hard. Also, he had few friends.

    Things changed when he started high school. His high school had students from 30 countries and a cricket team. Tareq was excited to join the cricket team. He was happy to be with kids who loved the game as much as he did. He practised before and after school. "Playing with the cricket team was the first time I felt accepted in America," he said. "When you play, it doesn't matter what grade you' re in or what language you speak."

    During his second year in high school, Tareq was named the cricket team' s most valuable player(最有价值球员).

    Tareq will go to university next year. He said, "Most universities don't have a cricket team. But that's OK, because cricket was there for me when I needed it most."