Zen Malik (5.11–15) has announced himself on the professional cricket stage in style, scoring a maiden century in just his second First-Class appearance for Warwickshire on Saturday 10th May.
The 27-year-old top-order batter, who made his debut last month against Yorkshire, followed up a composed, match-winning innings at Headingley with a brilliant century at Edgbaston against County Championship title-holders Surrey.
Reflecting on his landmark achievement, Zen said:
“I’ve taken the confidence from the win at Yorkshire into this game and I’m very happy to have followed it up with a century… I took it ball by ball – it was great to get there in the last over before tea.”
Zen’s path to professional cricket has been anything but straightforward. His passion and potential were realised at Malvern College, renowned as one of the top cricketing schools in the UK, where pupils enjoy a varied training programme and competitive fixture list with specialist coaching.
After spending six seasons as a trialist with more than 10 county teams, it was a standout Second XI season in 2024 that finally opened the door. Scoring 624 runs at an average of over 100 for Glamorgan, Malik earned a two-year contract with Warwickshire, having also developed through the South Asian Cricket Academy (SACA).
His recent performances have quickly silenced any questions about his readiness.
“It’s been a great couple of weeks – certainly worth the wait,” he shared. “There have been a lot of struggles and questions along the way, but I put all those to bed at Headingley. I was so happy in that moment – very proud of the hard work I’d put in, and my family had put in.”
Zen is now firmly focused on the season ahead.
“I’m not putting any targets on myself. I just want to be ready for each game, stay focused on my cricket, and be there for the team when they need me.”
The Malvernian Society congratulates Zen on his remarkable start to life as a professional cricketer and looks forward to following his continued success.
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Come On You Bears!