Malan pushes his World Cup selection case

DAWID Malan hopes he has ticked a few boxes for England during the last 12 months and is eager to put pressure on Eoin Morgan and the selectors before the 2021 Twenty20 World Cup.

The Yorkshire batsman considers himself a fringe player for his country despite a record of 661 runs at an average of 50.84 in only 15 T20 internationals.

While Malan has played in all formats for England, it is only recently that he has been a regular in the shortest version of the game.

That has largely been down to absentees, with Jason Roy and Ben Stokes not part of the series against Australia, but the 33-year-old has made the most of his chances with scores of 66 and 42 to help clinch a 2-0 series win.

Ahead of today’s third T20I, Malan (below) said: “It’s been tough. We all know how good the players are that hold those positions.

“Their records over the last four or five years have been fantastic. For anyone to break in, you have to be extremely consistent and win games of cricket for England.

“Hopefully I’ve ticked a few boxes that Eoin, the selectors and coaches want and hopefully I can keep building on this if I get opportunities.

“I’m obviously aware that guys like Jason and Stokesy will come back at some point and it’s my job to score as many runs as I can in the opportunities I have to put pressure on them, Morgs and the selectors when it comes down to it.”

Jos Buttler will miss England’s final Twenty20 against Australia today after requesting time off to be with his family.

Having featured in all six Test matches this summer prior to rejoining the white-ball side for the ongoing series, Buttler has been inside the team bubble for the last 10 weeks and has not seen his loved ones in that time.

It is understood that Buttler approached captain Morgan and head coach Chris Silverwood after his match-winning 77 not out gave the hosts an unassailable 2-0 lead at the Ageas Bowl on Sunday and they granted his release.