{"id":292590,"date":"2023-09-16T06:34:10","date_gmt":"2023-09-16T06:34:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/?p=292590"},"modified":"2023-09-16T06:34:10","modified_gmt":"2023-09-16T06:34:10","slug":"dawid-malans-happy-to-be-left-holding-the-baby-after-shining-in-england-victory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/%d1%81ricket\/dawid-malans-happy-to-be-left-holding-the-baby-after-shining-in-england-victory\/","title":{"rendered":"Dawid Malan\u2019s happy to be left holding the baby after shining in England victory"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Dawid Malan is heading back to babysitting duty a satisfied man after silencing his World Cup sceptics.<\/p>\n
Malan hit a wonderful 127 as England sealed a 3-1 one-day international series win over New Zealand at Lord\u2019s, just six days after the birth of his second child, also named Dawid.<\/p>\n
The 36-year-old took Sunday\u2019s game in Southampton off to spend time with his newly expanded family but, aware that there were no guarantees over his provisional place at next month\u2019s tournament, declined the offer of extended paternity leave.<\/p>\n
Instead, he returned to make 96 at the Kia Oval on Tuesday and followed up at the home of cricket with his fifth one-day century in just 21 appearances \u2013 a joint national record with Kevin Pietersen and Jonathan Trott.<\/p>\n
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Those two knocks, as well as a half-century in the series opener, saw him named player of the series and turned speculation over his role in the squad into talk of him breaking into the first-choice XI.<\/p>\n
For Malan, that is mission accomplished as he heads back home to reunite with his new arrival.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey (England) were really good, they always gave me the option to stay at home if I wanted to but, speaking to my wife, we felt it was the right thing to come back and try to push for this,\u201d he said after leading his side to a 100-run win.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was \u2018score some runs, secure the spot for that World Cup\u2019. Thankfully it\u2019s come off and I think I\u2019m on babysitting duties in the morning when I turn up!\u201d<\/p>\n
Malan was clearly happy to remove the notional question marks next to his name, but made it clear that any doubters were coming from outside the camp.<\/p>\n
It was ‘score some runs, secure the spot for that World Cup’. Thankfully it\u2019s come off and I think I\u2019m on babysitting duties in the morning when I turn up<\/p>\n
For a player who now boasts an average of an average of 61.52 and a strike-rate of 96.52 in the 50-over format, the 36-year-old could be forgiven for taking on his detractors.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI need to be careful, I\u2019m probably going to give another good headline here,\u201d he joked.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is satisfying, from my point of view, to be able to silence some people who\u2019ve always got some negative things to say \u2013 but that\u2019s part of the game. My job is to score runs and, as long as I can keep doing that, hopefully I can keep the support inside the changing room.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always felt backed by the guys who matter inside there. There was a little bit of noise around leading up but that\u2019s that\u2019s part of being a professional cricketer. Until you\u2019re on the plane you never really know if you\u2019re on it or not.<\/p>\n
\u201cI guess when you try and break into a team as good as this white-ball team has been \u2013 with (Joe) Root, (Ben) Stokes, (Jonny) Bairstow, (Jason) Roy, (Jos) Buttler \u2013 it\u2019s incredibly tough and you have to score runs. That\u2019s just the territory: you either have to be an absolute freak or you have to be so consistent to keep your name in the hat.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve had to be the consistent one and thankfully I\u2019ve been able to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Malan\u2019s chance at the top of the order came at the expense of long-term incumbent Roy, who missed all four games against New Zealand with back spasms.<\/p>\n
England will continue to monitor him before they submit their final World Cup squad next week, with the possibility that he will be added to the second-string side due to face Ireland in a three-game series to check his fitness.<\/p>\n