Dawid Malan - an atypical English batter
Shoriful Islam had just returned for his second spell in the 17th over and started with a shorter delivery outside the off stump, to which Dawid Malan bludgeoned past the backward square leg for a four. The next ball was on a similar line, only a touch fuller, but the bowler had rolled his fingers to cut the pace. Malan hung on deep and opened the face of the blade very late to place it fine enough to the right of the wicketkeeper and the left of the third man.
These two shots depicted the difference between Dawid Malan and the rest of the English batters. A team known to play only one way, now in all the formats, has a player who does the same thing but has different methods. Every other England batter would have again used the power to thrash that off-cutter and, at best, would have earned a boundary only, but their shot selection would have surged the probability of a wicket.
Dawid Malan produced the same result with minimum risk. It’s not that he couldn’t muscle it; he had shown his power a minute ago. But Malan knows to deal with things without making much fuss about it.
Every time Malan bats in white-ball cricket, his intent and strike rate are scrutinised. When he doesn’t score, the questions about his position in the team gather noise. If he churns a century, his scoring rate becomes a point of discussion.
It’s arduous to find a place in this England team; replacing Jason Roy and breaking that famed opening partnership is harder. But Malan broke the door with his supreme consistency whenever possible and forced his way into the XI. He is not competing with his teammates anymore; he is challenging the best batters in the world with his unstoppable run.
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This year, Dawid Malan has 745 runs; his average (74.50) is the best among the top three batters with at least five innings. His strike rate (100.26) is among the elite 14 batters to score at run a ball. For context, this strike rate is better than Jason Roy, Moeen Ali, Joe Root, Harry Brook and Jonny Bairstow.
Barring Joe Root, every other batter is known for their high intent and more risk-taking cricket. They are all flashy, trying to force everything coming their way. It’s not to say their method is ineffective and fault; it’s just that their modus operandi involves higher risk, as reflected by their batting averages.
Dawid Malan has faced 67.54 balls every innings this year - 21 more than England’s second-best Jason Roy in the ODIs, with a minimum of five innings. Still, he has maintained a lofty average and strike rate. He has hit a boundary every 7.58 balls - the third-best for England despite facing 195 more balls than Jos Buttler, who has the second-most (548).
The 50-over format is built for Dawid Malan, as he has ample time to get his eye in and explode after settling in. That doesn’t mean he starts slow; Malan is equally effective in the initial phase of his innings. His average of 74 in the powerplay is comfortably the best among the English batters and fourth-best overall among the batters with at least ten innings.
His 83.77 strike rate in the powerplay this year might not be top-tier overall, but it’s still the third-best among his teammates, with a minimum of five innings. Phil Salt stands out with a strike rate of 132.41, but he loses his wicket every 22 balls in the first ten overs. There is not much to separate between the strike rates of Jonny Bairstow (89.77) and Dawid Malan (83.77).
But Bairstow averages only 26.33 while getting dismissed thrice in five attempts during the first field restriction. Malan has also lost his wicket thrice but has played 11 innings - six more than Bairstow. Malan’s intent doesn’t pressure Bairstow to go hard and take unnecessary risks; Malan does his job consistently and effectively.
Bairstow (7.33) and Malan (7.36) have identical balls-per-boundary ratios, but the latter has faced 177 more deliveries. That’s the difference. Malan will never look as aggressive but does his job almost every time. Jason Roy, who is left out to accommodate Dawid Malan, averages only 30.33 and strikes at 67.91 in the powerplay in 2023.
In the middle overs, Dawid Malan is a freak; arguably the best opener to operate in this phase. He has the third-best average (98) and the fourth-best strike rate (109.87) between 11-40 overs, with a 400-ball cut-off. His balls/dismissal of 89.2 in this phase is tremendous, and the southpaw takes only 7.68 balls to hit a boundary.
Malan’s supreme expertise in handling the spinners is the most prominent reason for these fabulous numbers. He has 273 runs at an average of 68.25 and a 105.40 strike rate against the spinners this year. Malan has the fourth-best strike rate among the batters to have faced at least 250 balls against the slow bowlers.
Malan hits a boundary every 8.63 balls, the fifth-best with the same filter and plays 64.75 deliveries before a dismissal against them. He uses his feet adeptly and identifies the lengths quickly. Generally, the overseas batters with skilled technique against the spinners are stronger square of the wicket and score heavily in those areas.
Not in Malan’s case. He is equally good in front of the square, and it helped him counter the quality Bangladesh spinners in Dharamsala. Mehidy Hasan Miraz is a wizard against the left-handers, but Malan was barely perturbed.
Malan uses his feet and can also muscle straight down the ground off the back foot equally well. Barring Jos Buttler, it’s hard to find such a skilled spin player in the England team. Jason Roy was never this good against the spinners.
Malan wasn’t always as good against the tweakers. He had the power. Malan worked on picking the lengths and using his feet accordingly.
Dawid Malan has hit the second joint-most centuries (4) this year and the numbers will rise moving forward, given the form he is going through. All this while doing nothing fancy or attractive like the other batters around him.
Malan is still a failure away from all those allegations to resurface. He himself knows it.
“I feel like every series, I'm under pressure,” stated Malan after his marvellous ton against Bangladesh yesterday. “So, for me, to keep silencing people is all I can do. 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.”
People have false narratives because, maybe, he is not as exhilarating to the eyes and lacks that certain flavour of this modern English team. However, Malan does have the appetite to feature in the national team and win the games for his side. That’s what actually matters. Those narratives should not affect Dawid Malan, and he should keep piling on the runs, even if they don’t seem aesthetically pleasing.
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