Palestine girl raised in Kuwait pursues her love for cricket while wearing a hijab; 29-year-old all-rounder is playing for South Coast Sapphires, one of the six teams in a new T20 franchise cricket tournament being played in Dubai.

It has meant being lobbed together with 15 cricketers from various points around the globe, some of whom might be eminently recognisable off the television, others far less so.

She speaks with unbridled enthusiasm – with a distinct Australian twang – about a wide range of issues during a pre-training chat.

Her introduction to the sport came from outside the mainstream. About a family who is still skeptical about this strange sport. About her decision to leave home and travel to the other side of the world to achieve her dream.

And even about the stay-cool, fast-wicking sports hijab visible under her Sapphires cap.

According to Maryam, for sport, I like it like this a little tighter so that I can run and dive around and do all the cool stuff. “It is breathable, too, so it does not get too hot.”

With hijab, it is difficult to do the practice. Some girls take it by choice. I decided to wear t when I was 15, and my parents supported me at every stage.

The FairBreak Invitational is a one-of-a-kind cricket competition that will conclude on May 15 at Dubai International Stadium. Its claim to being the sport’s most diversified competition is undisputed.

The 90-player roster represents more than 30 countries, including cricketing backwaters like Botswana, Rwanda, and Bhutan.

Maryam is a one-woman worldwide grand tour, a Palestinian who was born and raised in Kuwait, the country she now represents in international cricket.

After falling in love with cricket while attending a Pakistani school in the country, she decided to pursue her master’s degree in engineering in Australia.

Her first experience of the game came in 2010, when she was 17 after Kuwait’s national cricket board targeted a number of schools to try to attract girls to play.