THE MAKING OF AN ASHES CENTURION

DISNEYLAND WARM-UP Malan spent time in Disneyland Paris ahead of the start of the Ashes tour. A picture that appeared on his Twitter and Instagram pages in October showed him at the theme park accompanied by his girlfriend Claire Mottram. ENGLISH-BORN, SOUTH AFRICA-RAISED Malan was born in London but moved to South Africa at seven. His breakthrough in first-class cricket came in the Western Cape for Boland in 2006. Later that year, aged 18, he earned a contract with Middlesex, the county in which his father played club cricket. The Malans are a sporting family – his sister Line plays hockey for South Africa.

MIXED FORTUNES IN ENGLAND DEBUTS

In June, Malan became the first player to hit a half-century on his England T20 debut, his 78 setting up a 19-run win over South Africa. He was added to the Test squad the following month but his subsequent bow in that format did not go so well, with scores of one and 10 against the South Africans.

IMPROVED FORM AGAINST WEST INDIES

Having made only 35 in total across four innings in that series, Malan then enjoyed a major milestone in August as he posted his maiden Test half-century, 65 against West Indies, as England won the inaugural day-night Test at Edgbaston. FREDDIE’S SEAL OF APPROVAL Malan rose to stardom in 2008 in a T20 quarter-final against Lancashire. When he arrived at the crease, Middlesex were 21-4; when he left, they were 175-6. The then 20-year-old struck 103 off 54 balls and his side’s total of 176 was enough for a 12-run win. As he left the field opponent Andrew Flintoff, who finally took his wicket, gave him a pat on the back and a handshake.