By Rob Barnett
When Shoaib Malik and Junaid Khan face off in the NatWest T20 Blast this evening their clash will capture the imagination of cricket fans throughout England and Pakistan.
Twenty20 is a global cricket brand, so the showdown of Birmingham Bears all-rounder Malik and Lancashire Lightning paceman Junaid will be of huge interest in the shires and on the sub-continent.
Malik and Junaid’s glittering Blast displays have already made a massive impact on the pitch and social media alike.
To heighten the stakes further, this is Malik’s last appearance before jetting off for the Caribbean Premier League and Junaid could line up alongside former England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff.
While Malik’s 47 yesterday in defeat to defending champions Northants Steelbacks, his fifty versus high-flying Worcestershire Royals and two cheap wickets against Notts Outlaws hinted at his outstanding talent, he will be determined to end on a high.
Aiming to stop the 2009 World Twenty20 winner is countryman Junaid, whose brilliant bowling has been a feature of Blast.
Junaid boasts 14 wickets at an impressive economy of 6.5 runs an over, with four of those coming in Lancashire’s 15-run win over Birmingham for a cost of just 12 runs in four overs.
That reverse fixture was before Malik started his seven-game stint with the Bears, whose director of cricket Dougie Brown is excited at the prospect of the Pakistan team-mates locking horns.
Speaking exclusively to ecb.co.uk, he said:“It’s going to be interesting. I’m sure Malik will know him very well. They’ve played with and against each other over the past few years.
“We know Junaid Khan is an outstanding performer in Twenty20 cricket. He gets his yorkers in brilliantly at the end.
“We know that we’re going to have to do something and be proactive against that because we can’t just assume that he’s going to miss his area and that we’re going to hit him back over his head.
“We’ve got to expect him to get all of his balls in the perfect area to close the game out. It’ll be interesting.
“It’ll be something that we speak about and clearly Malik will have his own ideas, having played with and against him.
“I’ll be interested to pick his brain as to how best he thinks we can counter that. But clearly Malik’s a world-class player and world-class players have a way of making the game look pretty simple when they’re playing at their best.
“Hopefully he’s got something up his sleeve. Hopefully he can produce it.”
Beside’s the fixture’s interest worldwide, it will have a significant bearing on the North Group with Lancashire able to go top and Birmingham needing victory to boost their quarter-final prospects.
While Brown remains focussed on getting the Bears to finals day at their Edgbaston home on August 23, he is also mindful of the wider impact the Pakistan pair give the match.
“Because we’re actively involved in this tournament at this time we don’t pick up the interest in it from around the globe,” he added.
“Twenty20 has picked up a lot of momentum over the last few years and I think a lot of players internationally will be looking at the Twenty20 Blast and be thinking ‘well that might be an opportunity for me down the line’.
“We know that there’s a lot of interest from a playing perspective globally. We’re probably less aware of the implications of the game we’re going to play against Lancashire.
“Clearly it’s a big game for the supporters of Pakistan cricket because you’ve got two outstanding Pakistani players, both of whom have played at the top of the game in Twenty20 and are doing so at the moment at the top of their game in Twenty20 cricket, going head-to-head with each other.
“With regards to sub-continent cricket, it certainly seems to be in pretty good order and it’s nice to see some players from that neck of the woods come in and dominating our competition as well.”
Even if Malik took a while to find his form for Birmingham, he has pleased former Scotland all-rounder Brown.
“He’s been fantastic for us,” enthused Brown, who spoke to ecb.co.uk a month ago about signing Malik.
“He’s scored some really impressive runs; he’s bowled some significant overs; he’s bowled really well; he’s bowled through the powerplay; he’s been a very enthusiastic fielder; he’s affected a couple of run-outs; and he’s fitted into the environment particularly well.
“He’s proved to be one of our leading lights in Twenty20 cricket. We’re looking for a great performance from him as he signs off with the Birmingham Bears.”
NatWest T20 Blast fact
*Junaid Khan is one of three players with an average and strike-rate below 14 in English domestic T20s (minimum 250 balls bowled). Paul Collingwood and Adam Hollioake are the others.