Malan: I’m way above average
DAWID IS ON WORLD CUP MISSION
DAWID MALAN wants to fire England to No1 in the Twenty20 charts tonight – but fears he is still only a magazine in their heavy artillery.
Eoin Morgan’s side will take over from Australia at the top of the T20 rankings if they complete a 3- 0 clean sweep against their rivals at the Ageas Bowl.
But in- form Malan still wonders if he is only on the fringes of England’s optimum starting XI, despite helping them clinch an unassailable 2- 0 lead.
He hopes his robust innings in this series of 66 and 42, which occupied only 75 balls between them, have given skipper Morgan and the selectors food for thought ahead of next year’s T20 World Cup in India.
A superb record of 661 runs at 50.84 in only 15 T20 internationals, including a whirlwind 103 off 51 balls in New Zealand last winter, puts Malan ahead of top- ranked India captain Virat Kohli ( 50.80) and Pakistan’s Babar Azam ( 49.93) in the sprint format averages.
But with Ben Stokes and Jason Roy to come back, and Jos Buttler excused today’s game to be with his young family after 10 weeks of separation, Malan feels he needs to make another statement.
He said: “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 guys like Jason and Stokesy will come back and it’s my job to score as many runs as I can to put pressure on them, Morgs and the selectors.
“It’s been tough to break into this side. We all know how good the players are that hold those positions.
“Their records over the past 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 and I have no idea if I’ll be part of that World Cup squad.
“I’ve spoken to Morgs before this series. I said, ‘ Look if there’s something you want me to do differently’ and he replied, ‘ The way you play is exactly how we want you to play – just keep doing what you’re doing’.
“The man that matters is Eoin Morgan and if he’s happy with the way I’m approaching it, then that’s good enough for me.”
Following his unbeaten 77 off 54 balls on Sunday, Buttler was given permission to sit out tonight’s game.
After being involved in all six Tests against West Indies and Pakistan, Buttler remained in England’s biosecure bubble and he has not been home since June.
Buttler is expected to return for the first one- day international with Australia at Old Trafford on
Friday.