Star signing Shoaib Malik had the immediate desired impact last week as he helped steer Warwickshire to victory on his debut after arriving for a seven-match Twenty20 stint.

The former Pakistan captain has been recruited by the Bears to bring his expertise and experience to bear upon their campaign in senior cricket’s shortest format.

Of both those attributes Malik has plenty. He has played 32 Test matchs and 216 ODIs for his country, whom he captained for 21 months up to January 2009. But it is his Twenty20 nous specifically which has tempted Warwickshire to invest in his services this summer.

The 32-year-old off-spinning all-rounder has played 59 T20s for Pakistan (averageing 22 with both bat and ball) while his Bears debut against Durham last Friday was his 161st T20 game in senior cricket.

His quality showed straight away for his new county as he shone in all departments, starting off with a direct-hit run out in the first over, then bowling three overs for just 18 runs before scoring a well-judged 28 with the bat to help Warwickshire chase down their target.

Malik has also tasted domestic T20 action in the Caribbean and Australia to further enhance a bank of knowledge which Warwickshire believe will coax the best out of the players around him at Edgbaston.

Few cricketers in the world have more knowledge of the format that Malik. And one thing that all that experience has taught him, he insists, is that T20 batting is about much more than trying to slog fours and sixes.

It is, he says, much more about reading the game and its nuances which are so fast-moving that mistakes made in a moment can cost a team everything.

“In 50-overs games and Test matches you can come back from bad poitions,” he said. “But in Twenty20 it is very tough to come back. The margin for error is not there so you have to be on your toes all the time. And the key is reading the game well.

“I don’t think Twenty20 is all about hitting the ball here, there and everywhere. It is about reading the game and the conditions properly and playing your game accordingly.

“In each of Australia, West Indies and England conditions are all different. Wherever you are and whoever you play, you have to take each match separately and you have to assess the wicket and the opposition’s bowling attack and batting line-up and set a certain target. It’s not just about going in and hitting for 20 overs.”

Malik’s measured approach can only help Warwickshire as they try to turn a tide which has been flowing against them for far too long in T20. They have not reached the finals day since 2003 and in the last two years have failed to even escape the group phase.

Part of the problem has been a tendency to come out second-best in tight games. Malik’s steady hand on the tiller should change that - his input, alongside captain Varun Chopra’s skilful half-century, last Friday made a potentially awkward chase relatively comfortable.

He is not here for the whole group phase and will play only seven games before heading off for his next T20 assignment in the West Indies. But he intends to leave the Bears in strong position to qualify for the quarter-finals.

And Malik is delighted to get the chance to play some more cricket at Edgbaston - a stadium and an atmosphere he always enjoys.

“It is a beautiful ground and the wicket is like a sub-continent wicket,” he said. “It turns and is kind of slow and suits many Asian players. Asian teams have often done well there.

“The atmosphere is always good. I remember four years ago we played Australia at Edgbaston and it seemed the whole crowd was Asian. It is like a huge community here in Birmingham and I hope all of them will come along to the Warwickshire games, not because it is me but because cricket is a great game.”

Malik arrived with an impressive CV - and also the pressure of knowing that his signing represents a drastic U-turn by Warwickshire on their long-established policy of not splashing out on a second overseas recruit in T20.

It is a pressure which he insists he relishes.

“I like challenges,” he said. “And this is my next one.

“I have been playing all over the world in all the leagues in the last year and a half. As a professional cricketer, cricket is my passion and England is one of the best places to play. It is always a matter of trying to settle in the conditions wherever you are and English conditions are some of the most difficult in the world.

“I just want to do well for Warwickshire and be a good team man. That is what I try to be wherever in the world I play.”

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