Following that debilitating defeat at Lord's against India in the second Test, England's selectors have been forced to reconvene so as to make changes to their roster for the forthcoming matches. The English selectors have now made two new additions to their squad for the Third Test, with the likes of Dominic Sibley and Zak Crawley missing out.
Amongst the players picked for the third Test was Punjab Kings batsman Dawid Malan, who returns after a three year absence. The 33-year-old incidentally last played a Test match for his country in 2018 at Nottingham, during India’s previous tour to England.
"Dawid Malan deserves his opportunity in the Test arena,” said England’s coach Chris Silverwood while going on to add “He has a lot of experience across all formats and, if called upon, I am confident that he can come and do well on his home ground.”
“In the limited time he has played first-class cricket this season, he has shown what he is capable of, scoring a highly accomplished 199 for Yorkshire against Sussex at Headingley in June.”
The southpaw played just one County Championship game this season, but he made his mark with just one innings, as he scored 199 runs on his debut for Yorkshire against Sussex. Apart from that, Malan has also proved his credentials in white ball cricket, performing admirably for the Trent Rockets in The Hundred and for England in T20 cricket.
White ball form
Dawid Malan scored a blistering 76 runs in the final T20 International against Sri Lanka not so long ago, a knock that helped England wrap up a 3-0 series whitewash over their counterparts. The top ranked T20 International batsman followed that up by scoring 62* on his very first game in The Hundred.
Malan is the highest run getter for his franchise Trent Rockets, and has already managed to score three fifties in that competition. His contributions have helped Trent Rockets to edge towards the top of the table after eight games, looking on course to get to the knockout stages of inaugural The Hundred season.
His white ball form has seen him get a renewed shot at Test cricket, and the English selectors would hope that Malan’s inclusion will now finally bring some stability to that middle-order when they take to the field next at Leeds on August 25.
