17 year old left arm pace bowler Zia ul Haq made an instant impression on his Super 8s Twenty20 Cup debut on Thursday when he took 5 for 23 for the Lahore Lions as they comfortably defeated the Faisalabad Wolves at the jam packed Rawalpindi stadium.

Bowling in excessive of 140kph, with aggression and seaming the ball away from the right handers, Zia impressed greatly. Naturally given his tender years he looked raw and inexperienced but the raw talent was there for everyone to see. Slightly built but in excess of 6 foot, Zia hit the deck hard and regularly beat the Faisalabad batsmen for pace.

Zia was a consistent performer for PIA in the recently concluded National One Day Cup where he took 13 wickets in only 7 matches at an impressive economy rate of 4.48 and an average of 21.84, helping PIA to take the domestic 50 over Division One championship.

The Vehari born fast bowler was also an integral part of the Pakistan Under 19 squad that toured South Africa and in the tri series against the hosts and Zimbabwe he took 12 wickets in 7 matches at an economy rate of 3.88 and an average of 14.83.

Following the tri series, Pakistan Under 19s played a 3 match series of 50 over matches against South Africa and in that series Zia took 5 wickets at an economy rate of 3.58 and an average of 17.20.

Speaking with PakPassion.net, former Multan and UBL fast bowler and current coach for the Gaggu Mandi cricket club Nadeem Iqbal spoke of his surprise and satisfaction at seeing Zia making rapid progress in first class cricket.

"Zia came to my attention when he was 13 or 14 years old when he attended a Pakistan Cricket Board talent hunt in Multan. I spotted him there and thought that he had something special about him. I selected him for our Under 15 team and he was also selected for the Multan Under 15 regional team. He's from the same city as Waqar Younis, Vehari, but there were no practice sessions taking place in Vehari. His family then moved from Vehari to a village around 10 kilometres from Gaggu Mandi."

"For two years Zia would then cycle on a daily basis to the Gaggu Mandi cricket club to attend practice sessions and matches. Even when there were no matches taking place Zia would be the first one there at the club to attend practice. His enthusiasm was there for all to see and he would be the first to arrive for practice and the last to leave."

"He is a quiet boy from a good family. Zia is a quick learner and very respectful of his coaches. I cannot fault his work ethic, he has a desire to do well and I hope that continues and he does well in future. I always enjoy catching up with him when he is back home and he always comes to see me to talk about his bowling and areas that he needs to work upon."

Speaking of Zia’s debut for PIA in October 2010, Iqbal further added that "The management at PIA came to me in 2010 stating that they were looking for a quick bowler. I recommended a couple of boys to them and the boys attended the PIA trials. The coaches at PIA were very impressed with Zia and thought very highly of him and signed him up quickly. Yes it's sad to see a boy that you have nurtured leave our club, but that is our aim, to produce such talent and for it to play on the higher stage.”

Referring to Zia's performance against Faisalabad, Iqbal stated "I didn't expect him to do so well so quickly if I am being honest. Yes he is good, but I never thought he would do so well immediately in international Under 19 cricket and then in first class cricket. I watched him the other night against Faisalabad and I was just praying that he bowls well, accurately and does himself justice. But for him to take 5 wickets was just sensational. I was also very pleased to hear him mention my name at the presentation ceremony, as sometimes cricketers forget their roots and forget about the people who put in the hard work with them at the start of their careers."

The Gaggu Mandi cricket club in Multan has previously produced Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Zahid whose career was unfortunately ended prematurely by injury, as well as left arm bowler Mohammad Irfan who also played for Pakistan in a couple of one day internationals in England in 2010. The club has also produced batsman Naved Yasin and now seems to have unearthed another gem in Zia Ul Haq. However Iqbal has concerns for the club and stated that they are relying almost entirely on local donations to keep the cricket club going.

"Unfortunately there is no central funding for the Gaggu Mandi cricket club. I'm very grateful to the local shopkeepers and cricket lovers who provide donations and cannot thank them enough for their support. They provide the club with donations whenever they can and whatever they can afford and that keeps us afloat."

"The Gaggu Mandi cricket club is an integral part of the community and has been so for the past 10 years. The local population have a real love and passion for cricket and are proud of the cricketers that we produce. It started with myself, then Zahid, then of course Irfan and other players have gone onto play domestic cricket too. There is a real desire in the community for the club to produce good cricketers."

"We had a second hand bowling machine for the past 6 years where we would hold night time practice sessions under lights. It proved to be very popular especially for the boys who could only attend after work, but unfortunately the bowling machine has broken down and we have not got the funds to purchase another bowling machine. The Gaggu Mandi cricket club is not just about local boys from the town playing and practising here, boys from all over the Multan region come here to practice and play cricket. We do not charge any of the boys to play or practice here, it is all free of charge. My only incentive is to see these boys go on and play in first class cricket and then improve further and play for Pakistan."

Iqbal a bowler who in his prime was regarded as bowling faster than Waqar Younis outlined his plans and dreams to build an academy at Gaggu Mandi, an area that he feels is a real hotbed for talented cricketers. "Sadly despite our efforts over the past decade there is no funding, there is no sponsorship and we have to be self sufficient and reliant upon local donations. I strongly believe that if we had the funding for an academy we would produce a lot of very talented cricketers who will go on and play for Pakistan."