This has been quite a week for Dawid Malan. On Sunday he slid down England’s batting order like a fat pre-teen on a waterslide, lost his central contract on Tuesday and arrived at Canberra’s Manuka Oval on Wednesday with an ax to grind and a bat to wield. He duly rescued his side from an awkward situation at 54 for four, notably assisted by Moeen Ali, to post a defendable total, a second consecutive eight-run win over Australia and a second successive series win away from home.
After finishing with 82 off 49 balls, Malan insisted after the match that he had nothing to prove: “I feel like I’ve made my point long before,” but the England and Wales Cricket Board’s decision excuse not to do it. awarding him a full central contract has clearly stung.
“I think there’s a bit of a weird system with the contracts,” he said. “It looks like a lot [weighted] towards red-ball cricket, but it is what it is, there are decisions I don’t make. Ultimately, it puts you in a tough spot if you’re not hired and you’re losing money playing tournaments in the winter.
“Hopefully white-ball cricket can be recognized as Test cricket, because here you have players who are the main bearers of the history of the game. [Chris Jordan, England’s highest T20 wicket-taker] who do not have a contract.
“Keysy [Rob Key, England’s managing director of men’s cricket] and I’ve already had this talk. You can’t do anything about it. Obviously as players we’d like to be rewarded for our performances with England, I’d assume that’s what contracts are for. If you’re in the top five in the world for three years, you expect to be recognized with a white-ball contract, but that’s how it works. It’s not my decision to make. It’s still an honor to play for England.”
In the first match in Perth, Malan finished unbeaten having faced just two balls. Wednesday came in as planned at three and hit seven fours and four sixes (Australia hit a combined total of five) in an innings of safety and authority.
Beyond him, only Moeen, with 44 off 27 balls, and Jos Buttler, with a stuttering 17 off 13, reached double figures as an Australia side regained its steam thanks to the returns of Pat Cummins , Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood and Glenn Maxwell. – all restored to the team after not traveling to Perth – with authority and discipline.
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Ben Stokes again failed with the bat, but his contribution was felt in other areas – he opened the bowling for the first time in his T20 career and produced the moment of the match in the field. Mitch Marsh drove outside long on and the ball was already over the rope when the 31-year-old, sprinting to his right, pounced, one-handed it out of the sky and flicked it back under the his body in one movement. In doing so, he turned a six into a two, earned a standing ovation from nearby fans and left those watching on TV or excitedly sharing a clip of the incident on social media slack-jawed. Social Networks.
Having restricted England to 187 for 7, a subdued score for all Malan and Moeen’s efforts, Australia knew there was no need to be frantic as they began their reply. But it turned out they weren’t so much calm as comatose: after three overs they were 12 runs, lost the first two in the next two overs and soon their field advantage was gone too. They finished the powerplay, as England had done, at 41 for two.
An example of Stokes’ inspirational efforts was the England field that made the difference. Mitch Marsh and Marcus Stoinis paced the innings but both fell too early – Marsh for 45 from 29, Stoinis for 22 from 13, both misfired and victims of good low catches. Even then, Tim David might have led Australia to victory, but late on the 18th and with the match still in the balance, he strolled his wicket and Sam Curran, who, like on Sunday, made a crucial contribution to the victory as tension mounted in the final. , sent the ball darting into his leg stump.