Dawid Malan exclusive: I had a few nights out with David Warner but he'll come at me hard in Ashes

Read Dawid Malan’s first Ashes column next Tuesday
Good timing: Dawid Malan has batted well so far in the tour matches
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Tom Collomosse16 November 2017

He has been mentored by Andy Flower, enjoyed nights out with David Warner and asked Kevin Pietersen how to tackle Test cricket. If Dawid Malan performs well on his first Ashes tour, he will surely reflect on the eclectic mix of contributors who helped him succeed.

Flower, Pietersen and Warner would be an intriguing guest list for a dinner party — as long as you were prepared for the arguments to start before the starters had been served. Flower and Pietersen fell out spectacularly at the end of England’s last tour of Australia, while Warner — at least in the early part of his career — could start a fight in an empty indoor school.

Malan, who will join Standard Sport as a columnist for the Ashes, has been smart enough to study all three and, when he takes guard in the First Test next week, he hopes their words will help him overcome one of the most difficult challenges in the sport.

After a successful stint as England coach, Flower now oversees the Lions and had his eye on Malan for some time before the batsman’s promotion. Warner was briefly a team-mate in T20 for Middlesex in 2010, while Malan contacted Pietersen prior to his Test debut against South Africa last summer.

“Andy told me a lot about what to expect from an Ashes tour,” said Malan. “He said you have to be pretty tough to get through it, whether you are doing well or not. It’s the off-field stuff that can wear you down.

“You might walk down the street and someone will scream something to you or get in a taxi and the driver will be telling you how badly you’re playing. You need a thick skin but, despite that, you have to try to enjoy it. It is a fantastic opportunity. When David was at Middlesex, we had a few nights out together but I know he will come quite hard at me on the field if I play. What stood out was his confidence and competitiveness. He had a way about him where you knew he thought he was better than his opponent.”

Malan’s Test debut in July yielded just 11 runs from two innings but ended perfectly as England recorded a 239-run win. “I spoke to Kevin before that game and he was extremely helpful,” Malan recalled. “Even though I didn’t score runs, his advice was as sound as it could be. If I ever see him again I would love to ask him for his views on everything that’s happened so far in my career.”

Malan, 30, who was born in Roehampton but spent part of his teenage years in South Africa, is not the only one in his family with a talent for sport. His sister, Line, plays hockey for South Africa, while his father, also Dawid, and brother Charl also played first-class cricket.

So, even though he has grown up with high sporting standards, Malan was surprised by the glare of the spotlight in international cricket. After that shaky start against South Africa, his technique was analysed forensically by former players in television studios. At first it took him aback but now he insists he has learned to live with it.

"What stood out about David at Middlesex was his confidence and competitiveness. You knew he thought he was better than his opponent"
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He knows there may be more of the same in Australia, where he had never played before this winter, though he has batted well in the tour matches, scoring three half-centuries.

“When you get out in county cricket, you feel sorry for yourself for a while and then you pick yourself up,” he explained. “But in Test cricket, you look up 20 minutes after getting out and they’re still showing your dismissal. Nasser Hussain is looking at the replays, Mike Atherton is talking about this or that. But I was the same. I’d watch Test cricket on TV and say, ‘Oh, poor shot’. Then you play it… on television the ball looks like it’s coming out at 60mph, then you realise it’s actually 85-90mph.

“But you have to handle those distractions. At the age I am, you know what works for you. And the commentators, even if they’ve played 100 Tests and been successful, still had the same technical flaws as everyone else.”

Malan tries to switch off by going to the cinema, while he prepares by making notes about his opponents. There are stacks of them at his home and, on the flight to Australia, he spent time considering how he might tackle Mitchell Starc and company. He was inspired by watching the 2005 Ashes but, before his call-up, had started to doubt whether his chance would come. Even now, he knows there are those who doubt him.

Australia will believe they can keep him quiet and Malan said: “Players can only be judged on what they have done. Australia will be looking at the newer batsmen thinking we haven’t got runs. But we’ve shown glimpses of what we can do. Let’s hope it clicks and we can show the world what we can do.”

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