I finally know I belong in Tests
DAWID MALAN has not been reading too many of the local newspapers on this Ashes tour because every time he opened them he was confronted with a withering assessment of his ability.
From being told about his poor technique or shot selection or simply being bracketed with Mark Stoneman and James Vince as “a bunch of no names” before Brisbane, they have not exactly pumped his tyres.
“Every time you read anything it was how poor you are,” he said.
Well, the England man might be tempted to save a couple of copies of the reports of day one here at the WACA after he became the first centurion of England’s series, in doing so dispelling all doubts about whether he has the technique or the ticker to compete at the highest level.
Malan is a quietly-spoken individual. A nice man with polite manners and a nice line in self-deprecation.
But on blazing day here on a surface that trampolined 90mph tracers from Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins at the throats of English batsmen, he stood up and roared just like his captain had asked.
His maiden Test century was a largely chanceless and classy affair on a more typical surface than had been expected. Yes he edged Starc into the slips when eight runs short of his milestone, only for Cameron Bancroft to spill it, and he was rushed by a bouncer from the same bowler when in his 20s, which he top-edged for six.
But aside from those, there were few precious gifts wrapped – his hooking was brave, his cutting and sweeping delicate and assured, and his driving silken.
Malan has played seven Tests for England since making his debut against South Africa last summer as a somewhat surprising leftfield pick after an impressive innings on debut in a Twenty20.
In his first innings he was literally bowled off his feet by Kagiso Rabada with an unplayable yorker at the Oval and since then it has been nothing more than promising with three half centuries in 11 further innings. “After those first few games I thought I would never score a run in Test cricket,” said Malan. “It was tough but luckily I have found a way
and adjusted my game a little bit to work at Test cricket. I have faced a lot of balls in this series but haven’t got the runs to show for it.
“I was under a bit of pressure coming into the game to prove that I belong, so it is nice to tick a box and prove to yourself you can play at this level and can score hundreds.”
Malan, 30, is a product of the South African system but was born in Roehampton, left when he was seven, then returned to play for Middlesex in 2006 aged 18.
His career has been something of a slow burner and his elevation to Test level came only after some explosive white-ball innings for his county, the Lions then for the full side. Given that background it has been a surprise to see him at times retreat into his shell in this series as doubts crept in and the short stuff flew.
“I do like to be positive and, in the innings I have had, I have been in my shell a little bit. But here I walked out and thought I had nothing to lose,” he said.
“Just see the ball and hit the ball. It was my day and things went my way.”
Things came his way, too. At uncomfortable heights and at blistering speeds. Stoneman, who fought bravely for a half-century, was clanged on the side of his helmet by Hazlewood and asked to withstand a ferocious assault with the new ball. He was then controversially sent on his way when third umpire Aleem Dar over-ruled Marais Erasmus’ on-field not-out decision on very flimsy evidence from Hot Spot and Snickometer, when the ball possibly flicked his glove. The decision had England fuming and Root hitting the dressing room door in frustration. With Alastair Cook and Root having already departed and England 131-4 their Ashes looked on the line, much was needed from Malan and Jonny Bairstow and much arrived with England 305-4 at the close. Five hours in, Malan had reached his century with a pull to the square leg boundary, a raised bat and an embrace with his batting partner. It was a day that he will never forget.