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Dawid Malan returned to the scene of his first-class debut to help England claim a four-wicket victory over South Africa, sealing the Twenty20 series with a match to spare and further underscoring his own value to the team.
The southpaw started as a Boland player in 2006 before a sabbatical in London, the city of his birth, led to a professional contract with Middlesex and a career that has since seen him rise to No. 1 in the global T20. batting ratings.
That impressive run in the shorter format continued on this homecoming of sorts, with 40 balls from Malan 55, his ninth score of 50 or more in 18 starts, helping him chase a goal of 147. It came on a turgid field that it sat in contrast to the fertile land of the surrounding Paarl vineyards.
Though Malan fell to 18th in a tight chase, brilliantly caught on the rope by Reeza Hendricks as he attempted a successive six-second, he had snapped his back, grinding 29 of 31 balls as power hitters perished, before hammering. 26 of his next nine.
There was clear regret for not closing the chase, but Eoin Morgan, who put up 53 with Malan, was still there at the end, 26 of 17, when Chris Jordan pinched Kagiso Rabada’s winning runs with a ball to spare.
“Absolutely zero,” Malan replied later, when asked how much the local knowledge had helped. “That wicket played so differently from what I’m used to here. It was slow and very difficult to time the ball.
“It was nice to be back, but it would have been great to have a crowd and my parents here, even though my high school coach was one of the guys who returned the ball when it passed the six limit.”
Adil Rashid’s two for 23 had previously been the main spell to restrict South Africa to 146 for six. But Tabraiz Shamsi, the one who twists the wrist of his left arm and enjoys a bit of amateur magic in his spare time, conjured three of his own when Jos Buttler (22), Jonny Bairstow (4) and Ben Stokes (16) tried to clear the rope.
Having reached the crease after England lost Jason Roy by 14, caught Lungi Ngidi trying to get in shape, Malan first needed to ride an early storm, with painful punches to the shoulder and thigh as Anrich Nortje, the fast-paced player from bowling pins he hit. 97 mph during the Indian Premier League, let’s break.
Beyond a show of courage under fire from Malan, this was the kind of piercing-eyed performance against spinners that may be needed at next year’s T20 World Cup in India. Not that the 33-year-old takes anything for granted. “I’m proud to have been able to be consistent on this team, but this game has a way of bringing you down to earth if you get ahead,” Malan said. “You can talk about selectors or talk about coaches, but Eoin Morgan is the man who matters in terms of who plays for the team.
“I really enjoy hitting with him. My strengths are your weaknesses and vice versa. If they close it, open my areas. We have had a couple of good partnerships. “
A azure blue sky and the Haweqwa Mountains in the distance made Sunday in Paarl dazzling, ideal for fans to enjoy a beer and braai on the grass benches if the pandemic hadn’t made this a closed-door series. .
It was Jofra Archer who set the tone for England in first place, detonating Temba Bavuma’s stumps with a scorching 93 mph and advancing at four and a half. Rashid was also immaculate in a spell that saw the retired Hendricks launch on the 16 sweep and Faf du Plessis did a beautiful looping leg jump that had the former captain groping for fresh air.
Jordan had earlier extinguished an early bombing by Quinton de Kock (30 of 18) to equal Stuart Broad’s record in England of 65 T20 casualties, a slower ball from Tom Curran tricked Heinrich Klaasen into leaving the home team 95 for five in the 14th. more and in need of a forceful position.
Rassie van der Dussen and George Linde combined for 44, but after the latter’s departure at the end of the 19th final, following an initial field error from Stokes, the goal seemed light. Not that England had it easy from then on.
