Guru Flower Ensures That Malan's Back In Full Bloom

Chris Stocks discovers that England’s late developer has been working hard to retain his place for the first Test.

- Chris Stocks

Dawid Malan is honest enough to admit that he was horribly out of form when handed his Test chance for England last summer. But the Middlesex batsman believes the work he has put in since will help him enjoy a successful Ashes series in Australia.

At 30, Malan is a latecomer to international cricket and although he produced a wonderful first impression when scoring 78 in his first England match – the T20 against South Africa at Cardiff in June – he struggled to follow that up when given his Test chance at No.5 later in the summer

Exposed by South Africa’s attack after making his debut at The Oval, Malan scored just 35 runs in his first two Tests.

Easy runs were on offer against West Indies but Malan battled his own poor form to grind out two unbearably ugly half-centuries.

By summer’s end, Malan averaged 23.62 from five Tests. Although that was less than fellow Oval debutant Tom Westley’s overall average of 24.12 from the same number of matches, Malan made the cut for the Ashes tour while the Essex batsman did not.

Now he hopes to cash in on this opportunity, with the technical adjustments he has made to his technique since the summer evident in his first two innings on tour, both of which were half-centuries.

Andy Flower, head of the England Lions, was integral in helping him make those adjustments, with a more open stance allowing him to access his more natural scoring areas.