England centurion Dawid Malan defies ‘strange narratives’ to write his own script

Malan struck a brilliant century at the top of the order to set up a crushing England win over Bangladesh in Dharamsala, a result that gets points on the board for the defending champions after a disappointing showing first-time out against New Zealand.

His match-defining 140 came from 107 balls and featured 21 boundaries, including five maximums, further cementing Malan’s spot at the top of the order alongside Jonny Bairstow, and helping quieten the stories after his inclusion contributed to the non-selection of Jason Roy for this ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup.

It isn’t the first time that Malan’s position in the England team has been called into question.

A much-debated presence in England’s T20 set-up in recent years due to occasional slow starts despite a high average, Malan was often the player that pundits and fans called to be dropped during the team’s path to winning the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup last year.

And while there was occasional merit to the slow strike-rate criticisms over Malan’s role in the T20 side, his ODI record really should be beyond reproach.

Coming into the side during the last cycle as England rested a number of their Test stars from the format, Malan scored big score after big score, and now averages a world-class 63.15 after his 23 ODIs to-date.

“I feel like every series I'm under pressure, so for me to keep silencing people is all I can do,” Malan said after his Player of the Match performance against Bangladesh.

“You know, if I can score as many runs as I can and help contribute to wins, then hopefully, eventually people's opinions might change.

“There’s been a lot of strange narratives around over the last couple of years, but yeah, the majority of my cricket played for England has been T20 cricket and I've always said, I can play it like a T20 game if you want me to and just ask me to do what you need me to do and I'll do it. “

The quality of the England squad that continued beyond their 2019 triumph meant it was always going to be hard for top-order batters to break into a stacked squad, and Malan said that the competition for places, along with the disappointment of missing out on the 2022 T20 World Cup final due to injury, has inspired him to take every chance.

“I've wanted to be part of this team for so long, it's been impossible to break into with the players that have been so good. So, to get your opportunity and try and take it and, you know, enjoy it as long as it lasts, you know, is all that I try and do," he added.

“I don't really think I was in the running in 2019, even though I played the warm-up game at Malahide before. But yeah, to miss out on that World Cup last year was pretty much one of the worst things ever, but great to win it. Hopefully this one I can stay fit and we can play some good cricket and get us towards that business end.”

England bounce back with huge triumph against Bangladesh

England's win moved them up to fifth in the table with still plenty of work to do to recover from that early loss to New Zealand and reach the final four.

But having Malan in this kind of form at the top of the order certainly won't hurt England's chances as they attempt to become the third team in history, after West Indies of the 1970s and Australia of the late 1990s and early 2000s (when they won they won three titles on the trot), to retain the men's Cricket World Cup trophy.