Centurion Malan enjoys pitch battle with Aussie pace attack
Test innings. “After those first two games, I didn’t think I’d ever score a run in Test cricket,” he said.
“[But] I’ve never felt under pressure – I’ve had the backing of the coaches and the captain.”
And Malan had to tame one of the world’s best attacks.
“You play county cricket and you’re more worried about your front pad getting blown off or nicking a 78mph dibblydobbly,” he added.
“It was hostile; it was tough to work out how to play it, take it on or duck it.
“They’ve tested you in different ways, not only technically but tested your heart as well.”
Recalling the moment he reached three figures, he add- ed: “It was so emotional. I didn’t really know what to do.
“I almost started crying. To do it in front of them, the amount of sacrifices my old man and mother have made to get me here, is great. To repay them for all the time they’ve given me.”
Australia, meanwhile, must regroup – after a day which began with allegations arriving from the other side of the world, via a newspaper report, that this Test match might be in danger of corruption from spot-fixers.
Global administrators have provided reassurances there is currently no evidence of any such plot, and Australia wicketkeeper Tim Paine insists there is no chance any of his team-mates could become embroiled.
“All our guys have been educated on that sort of stuff for a long time – I’ve been contracted since I was 16, and been through it every year,” he said. “So we certainly know what’s right and wrong, and I’d be very surprised – well, I know – there’s no one in that team involved in any of that.”