‘I had given up on playing for England this time last year’
Dawid Malan is eager to keep his late-blooming Test career on track, he tells Nick Hoult
Last summer, Dawid Malan started the season having given up hope of playing Test cricket, but he returns to the game today for Middlesex at Lord’s with the chance to shore up his position in the England side.
The appointment of a new chief selector, Ed Smith, has put all of England’s batsmen on notice and Malan is fully aware that without the assurance of a central contract he is more expendable than most. However, his century in Perth in December should ensure that is not the case. Of all England’s batsmen over the winter, Malan was the only one to make any progress.
But a new selector will inevitably signal change and it is up to Malan to ensure he is not one of the fall guys for England’s faltering batting performances of late. Identifying new batting talent will be the top priority for Smith and Malan has three Specsavers County Championship matches, starting today, before the first Test squad is announced in mid-may.
“If you get too far ahead of yourself, cricket bites you,” he said at Lord’s this week. “There is a new selector, Joe Root might have a different direction he wants to go in and get players in he wants. The new selector may have different
‘When you’re bored in your hotel, you go online to see who has been talking about you’
ideas. If it was the same selection team, I would be disappointed not to play the first Test. I would still be disappointed, but it is not my right, and if they come to me and say I have not earned that right in the winter, then, fair enough.
“Until you get that call, as a non-centrally contracted player you cannot sit and think, ‘I will definitely be playing in the first Test’. I wanted to play for England for years and gave up on it this time last year. I’d had a good North v South series, but got overlooked again. I spoke to Adam Voges [then Middlesex captain] and he said stick to what you are doing and you don’t know how quickly things can change in cricket.
“During the ODI series in Australia, I was at his house and he just went ‘changes quickly doesn’t it?’ So, if I am selected again, it will be an opportunity I never thought I would get. It is about making every opportunity count, so I can have a red-ball career with England.”
Having made his debut for Middlesex in 2006, it took 11 years for Malan to break through to the England Test side, in the third Test against South Africa last summer.
Now 12 matches into his Test career, Malan, 30, is still learning to cope with the pressures of international cricket. He thinks deeply about his batting and the one big difference between county and international cricket is coping with the scrutiny that will not be there when he takes the field today for Middlesex against Glamorgan. Mistakes at Test level are raked over and judgments are made quickly.
“It is human nature when you are bored in your hotel room to scroll through on your phone to see who has been speaking about you. It plays around in your head a bit, but you have to learn to deal with it and manage those expectations from people outside,” he said.
“It is hard. The eyes are always going to be on you. There is always someone they are singling out. The team scoring runs is under the spotlight now. The toughest part is that you know you can play, the coaching staff are brilliant at giving you confidence, but when you fail, even though you may have got the best ball ever, you look up at the TV in the changing
room and they are picking apart your technique. They are putting things into your head that you don’t want or are not part of your game, so you start thinking about things that are irrelevant.
“Look at the best players who have been consistent international cricketers. They are the ones who can deal with the failures and not notice the noise outside. That is the challenge for every player. When you come in knowing it is your one chance, you have to back yourself and not worry about what people say about you.
“What I learnt last winter is that I can score runs against these guys, but it is about being more consistent. If I look at the amount of times I passed 50 (seven times in 21 innings), I have done it consistently, but I need to make those scores count with matchwinning performances, turning 60 or 80 into 150.”
Malan was drained by the Ashes and it took him three innings in New Zealand before he looked comfortable again. He was warned what was at stake in Australia personally, but was at ease in the spotlight. “It was good fun. Before we went, Trevor [Bayliss, head coach] sat us all down and said it is a tour that can make or break a lot of us in terms of our careers. If we do well, it can give us breathing space. If not, we might struggle to play for England again.
“I went over after struggling a bit against South Africa, but finding my feet against the West Indies. Even though I had not played well I felt I could play good in Australia. I took that confidence into my training in Australia and, from the first net, things clicked straight away. I could feel my movements again and I was confident with everything I did.
“When the Tests did arrive, I was comfortable with my game. I was not worried about the press or how I was hitting the ball, which is key for international cricket, but I do feel I left a few runs out there. I could have got another 120 runs. There were times when I got in and got myself out.”