England batsman Dawid Malan was named player of the T20I series after England romped to a three-nil victory over South Africa recently.
The Proteas, who enjoy title sponsorship from Betway, were thoroughly outplayed by the two-time world champions. Betway are a major betting platform, offering odds and bonuses on a large variety of sports event and games.
England, of course, won the World Cup in the United Kingdom in 2019. Almost a decade prior, they won the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean.
Their fine form was displayed throughout the T20I series – and will likely be showcased again during the upcoming ODI series against the South Africans.
Malan 19, 55 and 99 during the T20I series. His shot selection and stroke play were exemplary. A Proteas bowling unit minus the absent Dwaine Pretorius and Andile Phehlukwayo struggled throughout.
“England are a step ahead of, not only us, but quite a few different teams in world cricket,” admitted Proteas head coach Mark Boucher.
“We’ve got a way to go. If you look at this England team, when they got together probably in around 2017, they were also asking a lot of questions of themselves trying to find a balance that was going to suit their style of play.
“These guys have won a World Cup and are oozing with confidence. Their players are a lot more developed than what our players are. Our job is to get our guys in our team feeling what these guys are.”
The T20Is were played at Boland Park in Paarl and Newlands in Cape Town. Malan had plenty of experience at both grounds before England’s arrival in the country this time. He played for the Cape Town Blitz in the Mzansi Super League, which had Newlands as one of the tournament’s fields. He played premier league club cricket for Bellville Cricket Club back in the day. Bellville, at the time, probably experienced Paarl’s hot and dry conditions more than any other clubs.
It’s well worth noting that Malan’s namesakes, Pieter Malan and Janneman Malan, have also come through Western Province’s club cricket ranks to play international competition.
Dawid, Pieter and Janneman are not related, but all have come a long way from their humble beginnings. Pieter and Janneman’s brother, Andre Malan, has played franchise cricket for the Cape Cobras. Whether or not he eventually graduates to play inside the Betway advertising hoardings as various Proteas grounds remains in the balance.
Pieter is currently involved in the Cobras’ 4-Day Domestic Series campaign and recently struck a fine century against the talented Titans, who have Proteas opener Aiden Markram in the ranks. Markram is in fine form as well. The pair will jostle for position to open the batting alongside Dean Elgar come the Betway Test series against Sri Lanka later this year.
Janneman was in the squad for the T20I series against the men from the United Kingdom, but didn’t feature in the playing XI. Instead, the diminutive Temba Bavuma was selected to open the batting alongside captain Quinton de Kock. This combination could continue into the ODIs, or Bavuma might make way for Janneman, who struck a superb century against the Australians the last time he played ODI cricket earlier this year.