Los Angeles Times

Cricket in full swing on Ramadan nights

LOS ANGELES - By 1:30 a.m. the cricket matches at the West Covina ballpark were in full swing. Farrukh Zafar stood in front of the wicket and gripped the flat bat made of willow wood, his eyes glued on the bowler who stood 22 yards away.

It was Zafar's job to protect the wicket, the bowler's job to hit it. The bowler hurled the ball, Zafar swung and what followed sounded like a heavy object dropping on a wooden floor. As the ball flew beyond the reach of the opposing team, Zafar's teammates erupted in cheers.

It was like a scene out of Zafar's native Pakistan, except the cheering was in English, as well as Urdu, and the field a small-scale replica of Dodger Stadium. Popular tunes from the 1960s, such as

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