What new boys bring to the squad

At Middlesex, Dawid Malan is renowned for his work ethic which has led the head coach, Richard Scott, to compare him to a professional golfer in terms of his meticulous approach to preparation.

It has taken Malan longer than expected to reach the Test squad and there was a lean period in the middle of his career when he went two years without a Championship hundred. But he has been more consistent over the past two years and scored a crucial century in the title- decider against Yorkshire.

“The timing is right, I don’t think there are many better players out there in county cricket. Wherever he bats, he can adapt to the new challenge,” said Scott.

“Clearly, now at his age, he knows his game inside out and what his capabilities are. When he was going through those lean times he reacted to being questioned in a positive way. In some cases, we opened with him or batted him at three. Ideally he is comfortable at four, but he adapted to those different positions and came back stronger the other side.

“No doubt he will be tested with the short ball. He is known more for his front-foot play in county cricket, where he is very fluent through the covers and midwicket but that is a challenge he must rise to as he has not constantly been tested day in, day out by a four-pronged Test pace attack. But who has who has played county cricket for the last 10 years?”

Last season, Tom Westley churned out hundreds with regularity, but second-division runs count for less as far as selectors are concerned and he had to be satisfied with Lions call-ups despite the support of his Essex team-mate Alastair Cook, then the England captain.

Westley started this Division One season slowly but two hundreds in the Championship and another for the Lions against South Africa’s Test attack (minus Vernon Philander) put him right in the frame. He has the second-best average for a No3 in county cricket over the past two years (57.25) and two centuries in his past six first-class innings, so should feel confident and in touch.

“He has scored a lot of runs and is improving all the time and he is the kind of player who is exciting to watch. He likes to score and get the pressure back on the bowler,” said Anthony Mcgrath, the Essex batting coach. “What I have seen in the last two years has been real improvement in his shot selection, knowing when to attack, defend and getting that balance right of going through the gears rather than playing at one tempo.

“The question for county players when they go up to Test level is, can they play that real express pace? From what I have seen, he copes well with the short ball. He plays the pull shot and, so far, he has passed with flying colours the tests he has faced. He is a level-headed guy. He is not one to get carried away.”