Pakistan Under-19s Mistaken for Asylum Seekers in Portsmouth Protest
What should have been a quiet evening for Pakistan’s Under-19 cricketers on tour in England turned surreal on Tuesday, as the teenage players suddenly found themselves at the heart of an anti-migrant protest outside their hotel in Portsmouth.
A group of around 30 to 40 protesters gathered outside the Marriott Hotel after rumours online claimed a coachload of asylum seekers had arrived. Police were called shortly before 6.30pm. By the time officers arrived, it became clear the supposed “foreign nationals” were, in fact, Pakistan’s Under-19 cricket team.
The players, in town as part of their youth tour against England, had simply been getting off their coach.
A Photo, a Rumour, and a Crowd
The chain reaction started with a single image. A photograph of people stepping off a coach appeared online, framed by speculation that a new group of asylum seekers had been brought to the hotel.
No confirmation. No evidence. Just a picture, a guess, and a narrative that spread fast.
Reform councillor George Madgwick stepped in as confusion grew. After contacting the hotel and speaking directly with the Pakistan team’s coach, he realised the protest had completely misidentified its target.
“I spoke to the coach of the team, who was very understanding,” Madgwick told the Guardian. He then walked out to face the protesters himself.
“I went out to the protesters and told them, ‘You’ve got it wrong guys, it’s a cricket club.’ They left within a couple of minutes. It was a massively unfortunate incident.”
Madgwick later told the BBC the entire episode had been built on “mere speculation rather than based on truth or fact”, describing it as an uncomfortable reflection on Portsmouth. One photo of “what looked like foreign nationals”, as he put it, had been enough to ignite anger on the street.
Police, Politics and a Team Caught in the Middle
Hampshire Constabulary confirmed that officers spoke to those gathered outside the hotel and explained the situation. With their concerns exposed as misplaced, the protesters dispersed shortly before 9pm. No offences were identified.
By then, the damage to Portsmouth’s image had already been done.
Portsmouth North MP Amanda Martin condemned the incident, stressing that the protest had turned its fire on the wrong people entirely.
“There is a legitimate debate to be had about immigration, but it must be based on facts not misinformation or rumour,” she said.
For the Pakistan Under-19 squad, the incident was an unwanted distraction on a tour meant to be about development, not politics. The England and Wales Cricket Board has since checked on the team’s wellbeing and is reviewing security arrangements for the rest of their stay, conscious that teenage athletes should not be anywhere near the frontline of Britain’s immigration arguments.
Cricket Amid the Noise
While the senior Pakistan side locks horns with England at Test level, the Under-19s have been quietly putting together a competitive tour of their own.
On the field, they lost a hard-fought four-day match against England Under-19 by just 10 runs in Arundel, a narrow defeat that hinted at resilience and talent in the ranks. They hit back emphatically in the Youth ODI on 9 September, crushing England Under-19 by 177 runs.
Off the field, though, Tuesday night in Portsmouth will linger for very different reasons: a reminder of how quickly rumour can turn into confrontation, and how a group of young cricketers, far from home and focused on their game, can suddenly find themselves standing in the crosshairs of someone else’s argument.
