Former England T20I star Dawid Malan announces retirement from international cricket

Wed, 28 Aug 2024 08:45:00 GMT

Former England T20I No.1, Dawid Malan, has officially announced his retirement from international cricket at the age of 37. Having represented England in 22 Tests, 30 ODIs, and 62 T20Is, Malan leaves behind a legacy as one of the few England men's batters to score centuries in all three international formats, alongside Jos Buttler.

Malan made his T20I debut in 2017 with an impressive 78 off 44 balls against South Africa. His standout Test performance came on the 2017-18 Ashes tour, where he scored his only Test century, a 140-run knock in Perth. However, it was in T20I cricket that Malan truly shined, reaching the pinnacle of the ICC batting rankings in 2020. He also became the fastest men's player to score 1,000 T20I runs, achieving this feat in just 24 innings.

Malan's achievements and challenges

Despite being a prolific scorer in T20I cricket, Malan's journey in the ODI format took longer to take off. From June 2022 to September 2023, he scored five ODI hundreds, cementing his place in the team and earning a spot in England’s 2023 World Cup squad. However, despite his individual success, Malan’s performance couldn’t prevent England's disappointing campaign, and he was subsequently dropped from the squad for the white-ball series against Australia.

Malan’s Test career, though less celebrated, still offered glimpses of his talent. His average of 33.00 during consecutive Ashes tours in 2017-18 and 2021-22 ranked him among England's top performers during a difficult period for the team. Nonetheless, he struggled to maintain consistency in the longest format and played his final Test in January 2022.

"Test cricket was always the pinnacle for me growing up," he said. "At times I played well but in between just wasn't good enough or consistent enough, which was disappointing because I felt I was a better player than that.

"I took all three formats extremely seriously but the intensity of Test cricket was something else: five days plus the days building up. I'm a big trainer; I love hitting lots of balls and I'd train hard in the build-up, and then the days were long and intense. You can't switch off. I found it very mentally draining, especially the long Test series that I played, where my performances dropped off from the third or fourth Test onwards."

"But, you know, on the field I always did what I felt was right to win a game for the team. I never walked off the field if I got runs not caring about whether we had won or lost. It was always about winning and I'd always question myself as to whether I'd made the right decisions on the field to do that."

Post-retirement opportunities

With his England career now behind him, Malan remains a sought-after player on the global T20 franchise circuit. He has been a part of numerous successful campaigns, including helping Oval Invincibles to victory in the Men's Hundred and contributing to the Trent Rockets’ 2022 title win. Additionally, Malan played a key role in Sunrisers Eastern Cape’s SA20 title win and Multan Sultans’ success in the Pakistan Super League (PSL).

Reflecting on his international career, Malan told, "I have exceeded all expectations of myself in white-ball formats." While he remains proud of his achievements, Malan expressed some regret about not having a more consistent Test career, a sentiment that lingers as he moves into the next phase of his cricketing journey.