How do you (or kids younger than you) play cricket in Florida?
While living in south Florida I played a bit of league cricket on the weekends how ever after moving to Orlando I totally stopped playing and have only recently have started playing some friendly tape ball cricket.
What kind of pitches do they use, and do they play on baseball fields, or what?
In S Florida we played on matted pitches and an actual first class ground. People who have played on the matted pitches will tell you how the ball absolutely flies after pitching, I still remember in my debut match I went in to bat in the 2nd over with this tall S African kid bowling at around 125 kph and while my stay on the crease (about 10 balls) the only time I was able to touch the ball was when i edged one to 3rd slip.
For friendly matches we just use the baseball fields or any little place that we can find.
Also, do they play tapeball games (the youngsters) or play with the actual ball and pads and all that stuff
League cricket in most places is played with the actual cricket ball how ever there are some tape ball leagues as well.
Do you feel people from Karachi and Lahore look down to you because you are from Faisalabad?
Not really! People that I have met from Lahore and Karachi were all really nice to me. I guess people who bolster too much about their city or family background are the ones who don’t have confidence in their own ability to do anything productive in their lives.
If there was one city in the world you could be from other than Faisalabad, what would that be?
Probably Islamabad, I am a bit of a laid-back guy character and Islamabad seems to be a good fit.
Why do you look down on ODI cricket?
Unlike test matches the ODIs allow the relatively limited players to “hide” and don’t allow the great players to expand their wings like they can in test cricket. Plus the game of cricket is such that there is room for extreme performances all the way from triple centuries to golden ducks so by not allowing a team to have a second chance( as is the case with the ODIs) you are tremendously increasing the fluke factor where a lesser team can win.
You seem to get over-excited at raw pace, do you believe that is all it takes to make a good bowler?
lol I wonder who asked this question! Well for me a genuinely quick bowler running in and aiming for wickets is the most beautiful sight in cricket. Growing up watching the 2 Ws win countless matches for PAK has convinced me that if your team has such express bowlers then you have a chance to win from any given situation( the 1993 Hamilton test immediately comes to mind).
Are you single?
Yes but not looking yet (sorry girls ).
If you could put 2 cricketers (past or present) in a boxing ring to fight it out, who would you pick and why?
Safraz Nawaz and Inzi oh and I want Inzi to be in the same mood as he was during THAT match in Toronto!
PP, if you could go anywhere in the World for one day, where would it be and why?
Haven’t had a chance to visit the holy cities of Mecca and Medina so it will be nice to spend some time there.
What changes / improvements do you feel need to be made within Faisalabad?
Unfortunately our city has a lot has a lot of problems such as the electricity issue, pollution, traffic etc but at this moment the main problem is the lack of education.
If you don’t provide education then people will simply not have the potential to solve the other pre-exsiting problems.
Does 'Ideal Bakery' mean anything to you?
Reminds me of the good old days but it always played second fiddle to the Kamran bakery.
How is it working with Oxy, Oxy, Oxy, and the others? Do they undermine you?
The “ox” as I like to call him is a real character and a TOP guy, he is known for his sense of humor but that’s just one of the many good aspects of his personality.
Overall it’s an awesome team, the best thing is that even though i am the youngest and the most inexperienced mod my concerns and opinions are taken as seriously as those of the senior mods.
Been to Disney World? Is it really as great as they say it is? Seaworld? Universal Studious?
Yeah I have been to all of them. The area in general is very nice and worth a trip if you are already in the outskirts of the state of Florida ….but is it worth coming here all the way from places like AUS, NZ, Japan etc? NO!
Faisal, you sound like someone who is familiar with the cricket structure in the United States. How far do you think the US is from having a team that would be able to qualify for a World Cup?
Not very far actually, we played in the 04 Champions trophy and having to compete against teams like Bermuda and Uganda we might qualify for the next world cup but that’s about as much as this team can achieve!
I say this because the team composition is poor, it’s mostly made up of retired W Indian first class players and some middle aged Pakistanis/Indians who can only do so much and unless they bring in some youngsters the team will not move forward.
Was there any definitive point when PakPassion went from being just some cricket forum to a place to visited everyday (with reference to you being a moderator now)?
Liked this site from day one! From the sheer number of posters, the layout of the site, the quality of posts and most importantly the passion among the posters everything seemed to be perfectly in place.
Even these days when there isn’t much cricket going on I still feel that I can come to PP and talk about so many things ranging from PAK politics to favorite mixed double tennis partner.
Every regular PPer has been involved in their fair share of lengthy arguments on PP. Any particular one that stands out?
Yes I had a fairly long debate with Kaboolee87 on a fairly minor topic dealing with the #6 position in test cricket. I felt that S Malik wasn’t a good choice and should only be in the team until Kamal starts scoring runs in domestic cricket while Kaboolee thought otherwise. Little did I know that only 4 months later Malik was going to be named as the captain.
I remember the argument because it highlights the unpredictability in PAK cricket because here I was debating against this guy’s place in the team and only four months later his place was more guaranteed than any other player.
Which two PP'ers would like to see go toe to toe and for what reasons?
Naved in the red corner, Monsee in the blue corner Topic: Inzi.
What are your aspiration in life? Long term goals etc.
I am still slightly undecided about my professional career but overall I just want to establish a solid base and then go back home.From the moral stand point I want to put myself in a position where I don’t have anything to hide.
Every pakistan captain is always compared with Imran Khan to judge his abilities. Do you think this is fair?
Forget about others I feel that any new Pakistani captain should Himself try to match Imran Khan’s accomplishments and lay-out a plan to eventually make Pakistan the best team in the world. With the previous leadership it never seemed as if there was a long term plan to make PAK a top class team in ALL conditions (this coming from a big Inzi fan).
IF you were a girl, which cricketer would you marry?
Hmmm I have never been a girl before so it’s kind of hard for me to answer this question *wink* but if you force me to name one person then I’ll probably go with Mudasar Nazar.
What do you see in Imran Nazir? Many of us think he is just another one hit wonder, but you seem to be somewhat of a fan. What is it about him that makes you think he can be a success for Pakistan? Would you have him in the test side, why or why not?
Imran Nazir is among the very few young batsmen who has the ability to dominate high quality bowling attacks with both back and front foot shots and has the footwork to play well even in tough batting conditions.
I am glad that you asked the question about his place in the test team because back in 00/01 the selectors made a huge mistake by marking him as purely an ODI cricketer here was a guy who had scored a delightful 60 odd on debut, scored a 100 against Walsh and Ambrose in their backyard, scored a century against the kiwis and the next thing you know that he’s dropped from the team for 4 years. So yes I definitely think that he should be in the test team.
Which new youngsters do you think should be introduced in both the one days and test matches?
I am not 100% sure because except for the under 19 World cup final and a few twenty 20 matches I haven’t seen them play but I do feel that it’s time that we ‘rest’ A Razzaq from the ODIs and try the likes of Arafat or Amjad.
I would also want us to be a bit aggressive and throw in case of an injury to our main fast bowlers we should be prepared to throw in a young fast bowler be it N Shah, A Ali, A Ayub, M Irshad who ever the selectors feel has the talent and the temperament to do well at the highest level.
Living in America, do you take interest in baseball and/or american football or any other american sports as well ?
Not a fan of baseball or American football but I do watch basketball(fan of the Lakers). I am huge fan of tennis as it’s my second favorite sport after cricket so I make sure that I watch all the grand slams and follow the progress of the rising PAK star Aisam ul Haq.
Would you ever consider moving back to Faisalabad?
Definitely! America is great but there isn’t a single day in my life when I don’t think about Faisalabad.
What does PlanetPakistan like to do in his spare time?
Other than watching and playing sports I like to watch documentaries and read books (mostly watch) about history, geology and astronomy.
If there was a battle royale amongst the posters, who would you back and why. Alternatively, who would you say would win in one amongst the mods?
It will be a toss up between big daddy and Amir…big daddy because he is really big and Amir because well he is not so big and not very easy to locate.
Among the mods Oxy will be the heavy favorite because he would strike while we are busy laughing at his jokes
Most PPers living outside of the states think that US sports are rubbish and often subsituated for another sport (i.e cricket for baseball, rugby for football), Is there any truth to this in your opinion?
I am not a big fan of baseball or football myself but I must say that the American sports like bastketball and football have some of the world’s finest athletes.
Tell us something about your memorable match where Paksitan was involved. Where were you and did you get tense at any time of the match?
Incredibly difficult to pick one!
Among the recent ones the Multan test match against ENG stands out. Since I had early morning classes and the match started at midnight so for the first four days I watched the game live till lunch and then caught by watching the recording later on in the day.
How ever for the last day I had planned to watch it all the way even if I had to have some coffee(don’t like coffee) but the way that last day unfolded I didn’t even think about having a cup of water and through countless leaps of joy I had managed to energize myself to a point where at almost 4 am in the morning I was feeling as fresh as ever.
Your favourite complete meal?
Biryani with some coke and gulab jaman would do.
Have you picked up an American accent yet?
Lol..naat yet!..... but it has certainly changed a bit in the last few years.
If you had to pick a PP'er to be locked in the same cupboard as you for 1 year who would you pick and why?
Umm….i assume there will be limited supply of food and not much room to move so with that in mind I can easily rule Oxy out *wink*
so I guess I’ll with some one who is really skinny and isn’t much of a fridge hog.
Who's your favorite PakPassion Lurker?
Lol ..I am not quite sure but there is this guy who regularly lurked on PP for 3 years yet constrained himself from posting…he now is a member of our tech team *grin*
Tell us one aspect about yourself which nobody in this board knows and which you would like to share.
I lived in the same house for the first 13 years of my life but then in a four year period from 2000 to 2004-05 I moved 7 times and just a few days ago my dad told me that we might be moving again!
What is that one thing that you loved to do in your regular member days but can't do anymore since you are a moderator in PP.
I just have to be more careful than I was before because before as it wasn’t a big deal if a mod deleted my posts but now it would be a touch embarrassing to see the posts deleted by another mod because I had been posting rubbish…I see it a bit like one policeman giving a speeding ticket to another.
You take a girl to see an ODI match and after it's all over she asks - "So what exactly cricket is", what would be your reply?
I’ll give her the directions to the pet store, I am sure they have plenty of examples of crickets there so she will get the idea.
You come off as a very laid back guy, one who doesn't mind someone taking a jab at him, and you seem to be very level headed. Is this the real PP?
Thanks for the compliment. A few years ago I use to easily get mad but now I consider anger as a sign of weakness and no matter what the situation is I try to stay as calm as possible.
As for Orlando, how do you rate it is a town? Is it a place where you can see your self settling down permanently?
It’s great! There are a lot of things to do, people are good, weather is great(with the exception of a few hurricanes), parents have good jobs, I go to a good school so there isn’t much that I can complain about. Having said I don’t plan to stay here permanently and would like to move back to PAK.
Describe your perfect holiday.
Other than my home city of Faisalabad there are three cities that I would like to visit. First is Auckland, NZ for the sheer geographical beauty of the land, Istanbul, Turkey for the great history of the city and London, England in July to watch a test match at Lords and the Wimbledon final at the all England club.
What's Faisalabadi in you...
I am a Faisalabadi from top to bottom, left to right and even diagonally !
While living in south Florida I played a bit of league cricket on the weekends how ever after moving to Orlando I totally stopped playing and have only recently have started playing some friendly tape ball cricket.
What kind of pitches do they use, and do they play on baseball fields, or what?
In S Florida we played on matted pitches and an actual first class ground. People who have played on the matted pitches will tell you how the ball absolutely flies after pitching, I still remember in my debut match I went in to bat in the 2nd over with this tall S African kid bowling at around 125 kph and while my stay on the crease (about 10 balls) the only time I was able to touch the ball was when i edged one to 3rd slip.
For friendly matches we just use the baseball fields or any little place that we can find.
Also, do they play tapeball games (the youngsters) or play with the actual ball and pads and all that stuff
League cricket in most places is played with the actual cricket ball how ever there are some tape ball leagues as well.
Do you feel people from Karachi and Lahore look down to you because you are from Faisalabad?
Not really! People that I have met from Lahore and Karachi were all really nice to me. I guess people who bolster too much about their city or family background are the ones who don’t have confidence in their own ability to do anything productive in their lives.
If there was one city in the world you could be from other than Faisalabad, what would that be?
Probably Islamabad, I am a bit of a laid-back guy character and Islamabad seems to be a good fit.
Why do you look down on ODI cricket?
Unlike test matches the ODIs allow the relatively limited players to “hide” and don’t allow the great players to expand their wings like they can in test cricket. Plus the game of cricket is such that there is room for extreme performances all the way from triple centuries to golden ducks so by not allowing a team to have a second chance( as is the case with the ODIs) you are tremendously increasing the fluke factor where a lesser team can win.
You seem to get over-excited at raw pace, do you believe that is all it takes to make a good bowler?
lol I wonder who asked this question! Well for me a genuinely quick bowler running in and aiming for wickets is the most beautiful sight in cricket. Growing up watching the 2 Ws win countless matches for PAK has convinced me that if your team has such express bowlers then you have a chance to win from any given situation( the 1993 Hamilton test immediately comes to mind).
Are you single?
Yes but not looking yet (sorry girls ).
If you could put 2 cricketers (past or present) in a boxing ring to fight it out, who would you pick and why?
Safraz Nawaz and Inzi oh and I want Inzi to be in the same mood as he was during THAT match in Toronto!
PP, if you could go anywhere in the World for one day, where would it be and why?
Haven’t had a chance to visit the holy cities of Mecca and Medina so it will be nice to spend some time there.
What changes / improvements do you feel need to be made within Faisalabad?
Unfortunately our city has a lot has a lot of problems such as the electricity issue, pollution, traffic etc but at this moment the main problem is the lack of education.
If you don’t provide education then people will simply not have the potential to solve the other pre-exsiting problems.
Does 'Ideal Bakery' mean anything to you?
Reminds me of the good old days but it always played second fiddle to the Kamran bakery.
How is it working with Oxy, Oxy, Oxy, and the others? Do they undermine you?
The “ox” as I like to call him is a real character and a TOP guy, he is known for his sense of humor but that’s just one of the many good aspects of his personality.
Overall it’s an awesome team, the best thing is that even though i am the youngest and the most inexperienced mod my concerns and opinions are taken as seriously as those of the senior mods.
Been to Disney World? Is it really as great as they say it is? Seaworld? Universal Studious?
Yeah I have been to all of them. The area in general is very nice and worth a trip if you are already in the outskirts of the state of Florida ….but is it worth coming here all the way from places like AUS, NZ, Japan etc? NO!
Faisal, you sound like someone who is familiar with the cricket structure in the United States. How far do you think the US is from having a team that would be able to qualify for a World Cup?
Not very far actually, we played in the 04 Champions trophy and having to compete against teams like Bermuda and Uganda we might qualify for the next world cup but that’s about as much as this team can achieve!
I say this because the team composition is poor, it’s mostly made up of retired W Indian first class players and some middle aged Pakistanis/Indians who can only do so much and unless they bring in some youngsters the team will not move forward.
Was there any definitive point when PakPassion went from being just some cricket forum to a place to visited everyday (with reference to you being a moderator now)?
Liked this site from day one! From the sheer number of posters, the layout of the site, the quality of posts and most importantly the passion among the posters everything seemed to be perfectly in place.
Even these days when there isn’t much cricket going on I still feel that I can come to PP and talk about so many things ranging from PAK politics to favorite mixed double tennis partner.
Every regular PPer has been involved in their fair share of lengthy arguments on PP. Any particular one that stands out?
Yes I had a fairly long debate with Kaboolee87 on a fairly minor topic dealing with the #6 position in test cricket. I felt that S Malik wasn’t a good choice and should only be in the team until Kamal starts scoring runs in domestic cricket while Kaboolee thought otherwise. Little did I know that only 4 months later Malik was going to be named as the captain.
I remember the argument because it highlights the unpredictability in PAK cricket because here I was debating against this guy’s place in the team and only four months later his place was more guaranteed than any other player.
Which two PP'ers would like to see go toe to toe and for what reasons?
Naved in the red corner, Monsee in the blue corner Topic: Inzi.
What are your aspiration in life? Long term goals etc.
I am still slightly undecided about my professional career but overall I just want to establish a solid base and then go back home.From the moral stand point I want to put myself in a position where I don’t have anything to hide.
Every pakistan captain is always compared with Imran Khan to judge his abilities. Do you think this is fair?
Forget about others I feel that any new Pakistani captain should Himself try to match Imran Khan’s accomplishments and lay-out a plan to eventually make Pakistan the best team in the world. With the previous leadership it never seemed as if there was a long term plan to make PAK a top class team in ALL conditions (this coming from a big Inzi fan).
IF you were a girl, which cricketer would you marry?
Hmmm I have never been a girl before so it’s kind of hard for me to answer this question *wink* but if you force me to name one person then I’ll probably go with Mudasar Nazar.
What do you see in Imran Nazir? Many of us think he is just another one hit wonder, but you seem to be somewhat of a fan. What is it about him that makes you think he can be a success for Pakistan? Would you have him in the test side, why or why not?
Imran Nazir is among the very few young batsmen who has the ability to dominate high quality bowling attacks with both back and front foot shots and has the footwork to play well even in tough batting conditions.
I am glad that you asked the question about his place in the test team because back in 00/01 the selectors made a huge mistake by marking him as purely an ODI cricketer here was a guy who had scored a delightful 60 odd on debut, scored a 100 against Walsh and Ambrose in their backyard, scored a century against the kiwis and the next thing you know that he’s dropped from the team for 4 years. So yes I definitely think that he should be in the test team.
Which new youngsters do you think should be introduced in both the one days and test matches?
I am not 100% sure because except for the under 19 World cup final and a few twenty 20 matches I haven’t seen them play but I do feel that it’s time that we ‘rest’ A Razzaq from the ODIs and try the likes of Arafat or Amjad.
I would also want us to be a bit aggressive and throw in case of an injury to our main fast bowlers we should be prepared to throw in a young fast bowler be it N Shah, A Ali, A Ayub, M Irshad who ever the selectors feel has the talent and the temperament to do well at the highest level.
Living in America, do you take interest in baseball and/or american football or any other american sports as well ?
Not a fan of baseball or American football but I do watch basketball(fan of the Lakers). I am huge fan of tennis as it’s my second favorite sport after cricket so I make sure that I watch all the grand slams and follow the progress of the rising PAK star Aisam ul Haq.
Would you ever consider moving back to Faisalabad?
Definitely! America is great but there isn’t a single day in my life when I don’t think about Faisalabad.
What does PlanetPakistan like to do in his spare time?
Other than watching and playing sports I like to watch documentaries and read books (mostly watch) about history, geology and astronomy.
If there was a battle royale amongst the posters, who would you back and why. Alternatively, who would you say would win in one amongst the mods?
It will be a toss up between big daddy and Amir…big daddy because he is really big and Amir because well he is not so big and not very easy to locate.
Among the mods Oxy will be the heavy favorite because he would strike while we are busy laughing at his jokes
Most PPers living outside of the states think that US sports are rubbish and often subsituated for another sport (i.e cricket for baseball, rugby for football), Is there any truth to this in your opinion?
I am not a big fan of baseball or football myself but I must say that the American sports like bastketball and football have some of the world’s finest athletes.
Tell us something about your memorable match where Paksitan was involved. Where were you and did you get tense at any time of the match?
Incredibly difficult to pick one!
Among the recent ones the Multan test match against ENG stands out. Since I had early morning classes and the match started at midnight so for the first four days I watched the game live till lunch and then caught by watching the recording later on in the day.
How ever for the last day I had planned to watch it all the way even if I had to have some coffee(don’t like coffee) but the way that last day unfolded I didn’t even think about having a cup of water and through countless leaps of joy I had managed to energize myself to a point where at almost 4 am in the morning I was feeling as fresh as ever.
Your favourite complete meal?
Biryani with some coke and gulab jaman would do.
Have you picked up an American accent yet?
Lol..naat yet!..... but it has certainly changed a bit in the last few years.
If you had to pick a PP'er to be locked in the same cupboard as you for 1 year who would you pick and why?
Umm….i assume there will be limited supply of food and not much room to move so with that in mind I can easily rule Oxy out *wink*
so I guess I’ll with some one who is really skinny and isn’t much of a fridge hog.
Who's your favorite PakPassion Lurker?
Lol ..I am not quite sure but there is this guy who regularly lurked on PP for 3 years yet constrained himself from posting…he now is a member of our tech team *grin*
Tell us one aspect about yourself which nobody in this board knows and which you would like to share.
I lived in the same house for the first 13 years of my life but then in a four year period from 2000 to 2004-05 I moved 7 times and just a few days ago my dad told me that we might be moving again!
What is that one thing that you loved to do in your regular member days but can't do anymore since you are a moderator in PP.
I just have to be more careful than I was before because before as it wasn’t a big deal if a mod deleted my posts but now it would be a touch embarrassing to see the posts deleted by another mod because I had been posting rubbish…I see it a bit like one policeman giving a speeding ticket to another.
You take a girl to see an ODI match and after it's all over she asks - "So what exactly cricket is", what would be your reply?
I’ll give her the directions to the pet store, I am sure they have plenty of examples of crickets there so she will get the idea.
You come off as a very laid back guy, one who doesn't mind someone taking a jab at him, and you seem to be very level headed. Is this the real PP?
Thanks for the compliment. A few years ago I use to easily get mad but now I consider anger as a sign of weakness and no matter what the situation is I try to stay as calm as possible.
As for Orlando, how do you rate it is a town? Is it a place where you can see your self settling down permanently?
It’s great! There are a lot of things to do, people are good, weather is great(with the exception of a few hurricanes), parents have good jobs, I go to a good school so there isn’t much that I can complain about. Having said I don’t plan to stay here permanently and would like to move back to PAK.
Describe your perfect holiday.
Other than my home city of Faisalabad there are three cities that I would like to visit. First is Auckland, NZ for the sheer geographical beauty of the land, Istanbul, Turkey for the great history of the city and London, England in July to watch a test match at Lords and the Wimbledon final at the all England club.
What's Faisalabadi in you...
I am a Faisalabadi from top to bottom, left to right and even diagonally !
