England’s Malan Poised to Lead Charge at World Cup
Dawid Malan has been in a superb form for England, the consistency is quite unreal knowing how pressure driven these key times before a World Cup can be. He has made best of every opportunity that has come to his way and now he stands tall with over 1000 runs to his name in only 21 ODI matches that he has played for England.
England defeated New Zealand at the home of cricket by 100 runs in the fourth and final ODI, taking away the series 3-1. With a outstanding knock of 127-run in 114 balls, Malan got his name inscripted on this honoury board of Lords Cricket Ground. He was rightly adjudged player of the match as well as player of the series.
This is the first time in last 4-6 years we have seen England top order batters not making a substantial contribution. Of course, Malan is the exception who played a substantial knocks, not only it helped England to get going despite early setbacks but Malan’s ability to keep things running in momentum is really a big positive for the English side.
In four match ODI series, Malan took part in three and has two half centuries and one century to his name. With 277 runs in three innings at an average of 92.33 and strike rate over 100, well, it won’t be wrong to say that England have found someone who can hold one end for a considerable period of time which will allow other batters to play their natural game.
England captain Jos Buttler was in full praise for the way Malan has played, he hasn’t let any opportunity get away unnoticed, rightly he deserves place in the World Cup squad. A guy who has deep sensible trust in his abilities, doesn’t try to fancy too much and out of the box things. Just a cultured player who plays handsome cricket with class and technique.
Dawid Malan Deserves More Recognition for His ODI Batting
Can Malan and Root Form Key Partnership for England at World Cup?
New Zealand had their opportunities in the fourth ODI, however, the injury of Tim Southee just came at the wrong moment. For England, sharing key partnership means they don’t want two new batters at the crease at any stage of the game excluding the openers coming to bat.
England are enriched in that case because they have Malan and Root. Malan’s number speak for themselves, he is the only English batter to score a century in last four ODI series that he has played for England starting from a gracious ton at the SCG last year.
Joe Root is out of nick at the moment but he can turn things around in the World Cup if gets going. These two guys can make the job easy for clean strikers of ball like Jos Buttler, Liam Livingstone and Ben Stokes who will follow them. Looks such an outstanding team if it is seen that way.
England will face New Zealand at Narendra Modi Stadium on October 5. England will be optimistic and driven by enthusiasm because they have dominated New Zealand at home in all departments. Kane Williamson’s return might help the Kiwis but it won’t be easy to for him to find his feet feet straightaway in a big tournament like World Cup.
