Back for England, Dawid Malan hopeful of longer rope

Malan is back in the England fold for the first time since he was dropped last August.

Give another chance to resurrect his international career, Dawid Malan is hoping that his third stint in England colours will prove longer than the previous two.

Malan was recalled to England’s T20I squad for three games versus West Indies, the first chance he’s gotten since being axed from the Test squad last August.

And with four half-centuries in his five T20I appearances for England, at a very good strike-rate of 150.69, the 31-year-old believes he can deliver.

“It’s never easy being dropped, it’s your dream to play international cricket and you think it’s gone at that time,” he told Sky Sports ahead of the opening T20I. “It’s been tough. From a personal point of view, you always want to play more and when you do average 50 with a strike-rate of 150 you do, probably selfishly, think you should be playing a bit more. (READ: Russell out of England T20Is, Holder appointed captain)

“That’s just the strength and depth of this white-ball team. To get into it and stay in it is tough. Any opportunity you get, you have to make it count or somebody else takes that spot. You can do all your talking off the field but at the end of the day, it’s what matters on the field. If I can score some runs, that would do me the world of good.”

Malan made his T20I debut against South Africa at Cardiff in 2017, scoring 78 off 44 balls. He backed up that sparkling innings with scores of 50, 10, 59 and 53 – each match played away from England – until he was cast away for the home series against India last summer.

Malan, also capped in 15 Tests, had wondered why he had been bracketed as a batsman suited to playing overseas. He sought out former Middlesex team-mate turned national selector Ed Smith and got an answer.

“It’s obviously hard when you play your whole career in a country to be told you’re suited somewhere else, but the way he explained it to me made more sense than the way it came across in the press,” he said. “It’s pretty simple: score big runs, play the right way and if there’s a spot available, he could come knocking.”