AMA Ask the Qpee

Btw..... Just a question, how would you know what they are singing? Because, these are in Hindi.
The short answer is, I don't. But it still sounds great even if I don't know the meaning of the words.

What is one Caribbean dish that I need to learn how to make?

Where is your favourite place that you have ever travelled to?

What is your favourite non-cricket sport?

Who would you pick in a cricketing Harlem Globetrotters?

Do you think cricket would be more popular in the Caribbean if there was more glory attached to representing island sides like Jamaica and Trinidad rather than them just being a stepping stone to play for the West Indies?

What are your thoughts on the efforts to rebrand the West Indies simply as the Windies?

- I would say pelau. Every Caribbean country has some version of it, whether they call it rice-and-peas, cook-up, one-pot, etc.

- Eastbourne. Maybe it was because it was the first time I was that far from home and I was alone. Or maybe it was that I went there just at the start of spring when things were emerging after winter. I don't know, but it was sort of magical to me.

- Good question. A few years ago I'd have said football but I don't watch or follow it anymore. Maybe professional wrestling.

- That's an interesting one. Because while the Globetrotters were talented, it was all about the flair and showmanship. So I'd have to think of guys who, yes are talented, but that make you smile or laugh when you see them or make you stare in amazement at their skill.

Monty Panesar (because of course)
Tino Best (guy always gave it 100%)
WG Grace (who according to legend, once replaced a bail after being bowled and continued to bat claiming that the crowd was there to see him, not the bowler)
Brian Lara (as a high school student he kept batting in the nets so much so that after all the net bowlers were gone, the football team would have to come to bowl to him...true story)
Andrew Flintoff (will never forget his pompousness)
Andre Nel (that stare)
Imran Tahir (maybe the only bowler apart from Tino above to regularly run right to the edge of the field in celebration)
Chris Gayle (who once did a quack dance after dismissing a batsman for duck)
Curtly Ambrose (after you ask him to remove his wristband)
Steve Smith ("I'm absolutely gutted"...yeah, so just who said bring the sandpaper out?)
Gordon Greenidge (145kmph? Hook. Six. Wham, bam, thank you maam.)

Touring umpire will of course be Billy Bowden.

- Thing is, in recent years the regional FC competition has actually gotten better. I'm not of the belief that the islands should split because that would mean each island needs their own separate FC structure and that's not going to work out well in terms of cricketing quality. It's possible that we can break up the Windwards and Leewards into their separate countries and have a 2-tier system like the County Championship, but I don't see that happening. Because of the country-based FC system though, some teams will naturally be weaker than others. If we had a system where players can represent other territories then that might work too. I don't know if I'm making much sense but basically if you're Trinidadian you can't play for any other team but Trinidad, unless you've lived in or have ties to another island. If we had it like how the CPL is, where players are freely mixed, it might be a bit more balanced, and that way things will be closer. Representing a team will become a bit tougher, and the prestige attached to it would be bigger.

- I've always thought that even though the nickname for the West Indies is the Windies...we don't exactly, you know...win. And everytime there seems to be something of an uptrend, it never actually realises itself. For example, I think that right now we're playing some of the best cricket we've played in a long time. And we've gotten the odd positive result here and there, but I know how fickle the politics behind this team can be. No matter how well the guys on the field play, it's always something happening behind the scenes. And the vast majority of players want to represent us. They want to get us back on top. Where are we now, something like 8 in the rankings? They want to get us higher. But sometimes the board doesn't seem to have the best interests of that desire in mind.
 
Q-man by professional wrestling you mean like WWE?

Is it okay for me to call you Q-man?
 
WWE, AEW, TNA, AAA, RoH, NJPW...I'm about as well-versed in pro wrestling as I am in cricket.

It's fine, I've been referred to by lots of names before.

Random pro wrestling facts:

- The Sharpshooter is named that because Bret Hart was working his "Hitman" gimmick at the time. He saw Sting doing his Scorpion Deathlock (which in itself was named because in the stepthrough variant of the cloverleaf hold, the two wrestlers look like a scorpion ready to strike and it fit the "Sting" name")...Hart saw it and modified it slightly. Hitman...Sharpshooter...get it?

- The Stunner is named that back when Steve Austin was doing his "Stunning Steve" gimmick. When he had long blonde hair.

- Paul Wight (Big Show, The Giant) used to execute some sweet top-rope dropkicks. Seriously.
 
WWE, AEW, TNA, AAA, RoH, NJPW...I'm about as well-versed in pro wrestling as I am in cricket.

It's fine, I've been referred to by lots of names before.

Random pro wrestling facts:

- The Sharpshooter is named that because Bret Hart was working his "Hitman" gimmick at the time. He saw Sting doing his Scorpion Deathlock (which in itself was named because in the stepthrough variant of the cloverleaf hold, the two wrestlers look like a scorpion ready to strike and it fit the "Sting" name")...Hart saw it and modified it slightly. Hitman...Sharpshooter...get it?

- The Stunner is named that back when Steve Austin was doing his "Stunning Steve" gimmick. When he had long blonde hair.

- Paul Wight (Big Show, The Giant) used to execute some sweet top-rope dropkicks. Seriously.
So you dont know much about wrestling then.

AEW is pretty awesome, rarely watch WWE now its awful. I always liked Sting, he is in AEW now and looking pretty amazing for his age.

Exactly why has Ravi Rampaul not figured in WI teams in the last couple years? He been doing great in county cricket!
 
Cricket West Indies (formerly the WICB and for a tiny discussion about that, see the above post to @Aislabie ) has been pushing for the younger generation to come into the forefront. And I have no problem with that. Rampaul has always been a good penetrating seamer. Not a ripper, but a line and length sort of guy. With Brexit and everything, he found his way back into the cusp of WI selection, much in the same way Fidel Edwards did. But he's pushing age and we do have a few young seamers around, so I don't think you'll see him in WI colours again. I remember him when he was at the Under-17 World Cup and did so awesome.

Of course I'm not a selector, so be forewarned.

EDIT: As for wrestling...you really wanna go there?
 
Last edited:
Cricket West Indies (formerly the WICB and for a tiny discussion about that, see the above post to @Aislabie ) has been pushing for the younger generation to come into the forefront. And I have no problem with that. Rampaul has always been a good penetrating seamer. Not a ripper, but a line and length sort of guy. With Brexit and everything, he found his way back into the cusp of WI selection, much in the same way Fidel Edwards did. But he's pushing age and we do have a few young seamers around, so I don't think you'll see him in WI colours again. I remember him when he was at the Under-17 World Cup and did so awesome.

Of course I'm not a selector, so be forewarned.

EDIT: As for wrestling...you really wanna go there?
Rampaul was pretty fast in his early days, regularly clocked over 145kph, youre right though he is 36 yrs old now, didnt realized that! He got a pretty raw deal though with thr selectors!

Oh....if I wanna go there? I have already gone there! I brought it, posted it on this thread and opened the thread back waiting for more. Its already been brought!
 
- That's an interesting one. Because while the Globetrotters were talented, it was all about the flair and showmanship. So I'd have to think of guys who, yes are talented, but that make you smile or laugh when you see them or make you stare in amazement at their skill.

Monty Panesar (because of course)
Tino Best (guy always gave it 100%)
WG Grace (who according to legend, once replaced a bail after being bowled and continued to bat claiming that the crowd was there to see him, not the bowler)
Brian Lara (as a high school student he kept batting in the nets so much so that after all the net bowlers were gone, the football team would have to come to bowl to him...true story)
Andrew Flintoff (will never forget his pompousness)
Andre Nel (that stare)
Imran Tahir (maybe the only bowler apart from Tino above to regularly run right to the edge of the field in celebration)
Chris Gayle (who once did a quack dance after dismissing a batsman for duck)
Curtly Ambrose (after you ask him to remove his wristband)
Steve Smith ("I'm absolutely gutted"...yeah, so just who said bring the sandpaper out?)
Gordon Greenidge (145kmph? Hook. Six. Wham, bam, thank you maam.)
I quite like that kind of vibe tbh, even though I'd probably pick different players to do it. Obviously they wouldn't always be the same XI, so I'll pick for roles:

Captain (:c:)
:pak: :ar: Shahid Afridi

Role 1: Unique Hitters
:aus: :ar: Glenn Maxwell
:wi: :ar: Andre Russell
:saf: :wkb: AB de Villiers

Role 2: T20 Heroes
:wi: :bat: Chris Gayle
:ind: :bat: Virender Sehwag
:ind: :ar: Yuvraj Singh

Role 3: On the Mic (:blueo:)
:eng: :ar: Andrew Flintoff
:aus: :bwl: Brad Hogg
:aus: :wk: Tim Ludeman

Role 4: Wicket-Keepers
:eng: :wk: Michael Bates
:afg: :wk: Mohammad Shahzad
:eng: :wk: Sarah Taylor

Role 5: Slower ball merchants
:wi: :ar: Dwayne Bravo
:eng: :ar: Benny Howell
:pak: :bwl: Rumman Raees

Role 6: Celebrators
:afg: :bwl: Qais Ahmed
:saf: :bwl: Imran Tahir
:wi: :bwl: Kesrick Williams

Role 7: Interesting Seamers
:ban: :bwl: Mustafizur Rahman
:aus: :bwl: Aaron Summers
:sri: :bwl: Nuwan Thushara

Role 8: Interesting Spinners
:sri: :bwl: Kevin Koththigoda
:wi: :ar: Sunil Narine
:saf: :bwl: Tabraiz Shamsi

So I'd make sure to have a captain, at least one of each role in the team, then the other two can be whatever role. It's not just a case of trying to pick a really good team, but also a team that'd be fun to watch given that this is an exhibition thing. So an example XI:
  1. :aus: :bat: Tim Ludeman :blueo:
  2. :afg: :bat: Mohammad Shahzad
  3. :ind: :ar: Yuvraj Singh
  4. :saf: :bat: AB de Villiers
  5. :wi: :bat: Andre Russell
  6. :pak: :ar: Shahid Afridi :c:
  7. :eng: :ar: Benny Howell
  8. :eng: :wk: Sarah Taylor
  9. :saf: :bwl: Tabraiz Shamsi
  10. :wi: :bwl: Kesrick Williams
  11. :aus: :bwl: Aaron Summers
(Let's be honest, people don't turn up to watch Andre Russell bowl do they)

Obviously, you could have all sorts of different players, but I'd want to adhere to that kind of squad composition. You could also create other categories, like acrobatic fielders (Fabian Allen, Ben Laughlin, etc)
 
@Aislabie after I saw Afridi pulling a ball back from over the ropes and telling us to be quiet, I lost a lot of respect for him. But he's a character for sure. Dre Russ was someone I thought of, but in the picking I had to at least try to keep a balanced squad. Shamsi...well you know I do like him as a player. Yuvraj is awesome except for one Dwayne Bravo over. Hell, I could have said Daren Powell. 4 runs to win and a fired up Charl Langevelt...and you come out wearing a cap?
 
As the Rock says...bring it. @Untouchables_666
Were you aware Bruiser Broody played a match in Trinidad? Cant recall against whom, can you google it?

The sharpshooter and its variations were initially started by a Japanese wrestler. Cant recall his name, wanna google it for me? Its your AMA after all.
 
The stepthrough cloverleaf was initiated by a Japanese wrestler Riki Choshu or something like that. (No Google, I just happen to know.)

Yes, Bruiser Brody did wrestle in Trinidad. Ric Flair won one of his 16 World Titles here too, except you'd never find it on the official timelines. Due to Carlos Colon's Puerto Rican wrestling company, we've had a hell of a lot of famous wrestlers here back in the day.

EDIT: Used the power of Google. This would be in the Jean Pierre complex, normally a tennis stadium and part of the bigger Hasely Crawford (first Olympic Gold medal winner for us) sports complex.

 
Last edited:
The stepthrough cloverleaf was initiated by a Japanese wrestler Riki Choshu or something like that. (No Google, I just happen to know.)

Yes, Bruiser Brody did wrestle in Trinidad. Ric Flair won one of his 16 World Titles here too, except you'd never find it on the official timelines. Due to Carlos Colon's Puerto Rican wrestling company, we've had a hell of a lot of famous wrestlers here back in the day.
That Ric Flair belt wouldve been the NWA championship I assume?

You took a while to post this answer so its possible you used Google. You said you didnt, god may trust you but sorry I dont.

Have you watched any of the series on Vice tv, ‘Darkside of the Ring’? You should you might learn a thing or two, then perhaps ‘you can roll up in my space dan’! Till then toodles!
 
I can't be online 24/7 365 20/20 7/11 like R-Truth you know...

EDIT: Yes I have watched it, but it's rehashing stories I already knew. The only episode that was worth watching was the one about Owen.
 
I can't be online 24/7 365 20/20 7/11 like R-Truth you know...

EDIT: Yes I have watched it, but it's rehashing stories I already knew. The only episode that was worth watching was the one about Owen.
So you knew about the UWF?
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Top