Dawid Malan keen to show he deserves run with England

Dawid Malan is eager to make an impression after returning to the England fold for the first time since he was ruthlessly dropped last summer.
England batsman Dawid Malan (Pictured: Nick Potts/PA Wire).England batsman Dawid Malan (Pictured: Nick Potts/PA Wire).
England batsman Dawid Malan (Pictured: Nick Potts/PA Wire).

Malan lost his Test shirt last August, seven matches after a breakthrough Ashes hundred in Perth, having already been cast aside from the Twenty20 squad.

His dropping from the five-day format was awkwardly handled, with national selector Ed Smith appearing to suggest Malan’s style was not suited to home conditions, but his omission in the shortest format was arguably even harsher.

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In five appearances to date he has already scored four half-centuries, averaging exactly 50 with a punishing strike-rate of 150.

His exile might well have continued had England gone with a full-strength squad for their three T20s against the West Indies, but with Jos Buttler, Jason Roy, Moeen Ali and Ben Stokes all excused the 31-year-old has been handed the chance to re-state his credentials.

“It’s never easy being dropped, it’s your dream to play international cricket and you think it’s gone at that time,” he said ahead of the series opener in St Lucia.

“It’s been tough. From a personal point of view you always want to play more and when you do average 50 with a strike-rate of 150 you do, probably selfishly, think you should be playing a bit more.

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“That’s just the strength and depth of this white-ball team. To get into it and stay in it is tough. Any opportunity you get you have to make it count or somebody else takes that spot.

“You can do all your talking off the field but at the end of the day it’s what matters on the field. If I can score some runs that would do me the world of good.”

The final two games of England’s Caribbean tour take place in St Kitts, but television broadcast arrangements have yet to be finalised.

The initial deal Sky Sports agreed included just one T20, with the second and third added to the itinerary at a later date. A fee has still not been settled to cover the fixtures and negotiations are continuing.