Dawid Malan said that his experience of playing domestic cricket helped him during his match-winning knock in the first ODI against Bangladesh while Malan put on an unbroken 51-run partnership with Adil Rashid for the eighth wicket.
England batter Dawid Malan said that his experience of playing domestic cricket helped him during his match-winning knock in the first ODI against Bangladesh.
Malan, who played in two matches for champions Comilla Victorians, scored an unbeaten 114 in a difficult chase of 210 in Dhaka on Wednesday (March 1) to help England take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
England struggled at 103/5 at one point before dropping to 161/7. But Malan helped his team cross the finish line with eight deliveries remaining thanks to an unbroken 51-run partnership he had with Adil Rashid for the eighth wicket.
“The more you can play in different conditions, the more your game grows. Whether you are successful in the past or not, it is just great to learn in different conditions. I have had some experience here. It is not the easiest wicket to start on. It is to trust the method to get through the tough times, and cash in towards the end and especially when it gets dewy,”
Malan said.
Malan expressed that the Dhaka Premier League, Bangladesh’s list A competition, had given him experience that allowed him to play spin differently. He participated in 24 DPL games while playing for Premier Dholeshwar Sports Club in 2013–14 and 2014–15.
“It was brilliant to play two seasons for them. It helped my game. You get to play the ball a lot squarer in England. Here, the wickets are skiddy during the day. It gets better as the game goes on and gets slower in the evening. I had to learn to play spin in a different way than I played in England. It helped my game progress massively before the franchise stuff happened. It was a massive help,”
said Malan, who played his first game for England in Bangladesh.
Malan rated this inning as one of his best knocks.
“I think even domestic cricket, talking about knocks that you, when you retire you can walk away, thinking it was extremely satisfying, this was up there. Just the situation of the game, to be out there in the end. It is one of the better innings in my whole career.
“It got a bit dewy, and the ball was skidding on. We started early because the dew plays a massive factor here. We thought that it might get slightly easier in the end, if we were still in the game. The key was to keep yourself in the game as long as possible,”
he said.
However, Bangladesh batter Najmul Hossain Shanto, felt his team should have bowled better, especially in the closing stage of the game.
“They lost five wickets for 100 runs (103 runs) and if we could have bowled well afterward, I think it was possible to win the game from that point,” said Najmul who top-scored for Bangladesh with an 82-ball 58. “I think 240 was a good score on this wicket that we failed to score. If we could do that, it would have helped the bowlers.
“I think it was a difficult wicket because there was some help for the batsman in the first 10 overs but later on, it helped the bowlers most of the time,” he said. “I think we were short by 20 to 30 runs when we ended the innings. The way we started our bowling by reducing them to 100 for five, I think we made a good comeback. If we could have bowled better in the end, we could have ended the game on a better note.”
Praising Malan for his knock, Najmul said the England batter played a calculative inning which served the visiting side well.
“I think he had the skill and that is most important. He batted as per the situation. I think along with his skill, he also showed his experience.”
