Cricket: Dawid Malan sets sights on England Test place after lighting up one-day international stage on dream debut

After producing one of the most eye-catching England debuts in recent memory, Dawid Malan is hoping his stunning T20 performance in Cardiff on Sunday will help put him in contention for a Test place.

The Middlesex batsman’s 78 from 44 balls against South Africa was the highest score by an England T20 debutant.

It was an innings that not only set up a series-clinching victory for his team by 19 runs but also gave an indication that Malan, 29, has the temperament to thrive on the international stage.

Often pigeon-holed as a white-ball specialist, Malan, born in Roehampton but raised in South Africa, believes his form in first-class cricket over the past few years means he should be classed as a realistic contender for place in England’s Test team.

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“Definitely,” he said. “I think if you look at my statistics over the last four years in first-class cricket, they’ve been as consistent as anyone in the country.

“I want to play all three forms for England. I work my socks off day-in, day-out in all three formats. It’s not just white-ball cricket that I work at. Test cricket is still my ambition, it’s something I want to be a part of and still something I work hard on in the hope of getting there one day.”

Malan has a point. In each of the previous three County Championship seasons before this he has averaged above 43 and this summer his average stands at 48.83. Last year that figure stood at 44.32 and Malan’s three centuries from number four in Middlesex’s order helped his county to a first Championship title in 23 years.

The upcoming Test series against South Africa, which starts at Lord’s on July 6, really would be too soon for Malan. However, if he can consistently churn out the runs over the remainder of the season for Middlesex then a place in England’s Ashes squad for the winter would not totally be out of the question.

The fact Gary Ballance, deemed unselectable during last winter’s tour of India following an horrendous series in Bangladesh, is a realistic contender for a Test recall after a fine season so far for Yorkshire shows you that England’s batting depth in Test cricket is nowhere near as strong as it is in the white-ball formats.

Malan’s temperament – a quality that straddles formats - hugely impressed England‘s management and the man himself believes the fact he had to wait until he was almost 30 for his big chance played a big part in that.

“You probably have your best years as a batsman from 28 to 32,” he said. “You start knowing your game, what your strengths and weaknesses are and I’d rather be 29 on my debut and knowing what my strengths are than 21 and not being comfortable. In this sort of environment to be able to come straight in and soak up the pressure was great.”

Malan believed his international chance had gone when he did not play after being called into the squad for last summer’s one-off T20 against Sri Lanka in Southampton.

That feeling was compounded when, despite big runs in front of England’s coaches and selectors during the North v South series in the UAE, he was overlooked for the two one-day matches against Ireland at the start of this summer.

However, Malan has revealed a chat with Adam Voges, his Australian team-mate at Middlesex who had to wait until the age of 35 for his Test debut, helped him carve out this latest opportunity.

“I didn’t think this day would come,” he said. “I actually had a chat about two-and-a-half months ago with Adam Voges after the North v South series - when I contributed really well.

“I had a chat with him when they announced the squad for the Ireland matches when they’d rested a few players. I said ‘Look, I don’t know what else I can do? I can only score so many runs.’ “And he gave me a few tips. He was in the same position with regards to Test cricket in Australia. He was a late bloomer so he told me what he did and fortunately I got given another chance and I took it.”

Now Malan is hoping more opportunities will come, with that dream of a Test debut now seeming not so distant after all.