Will Eoin Morgan ignore the noise every time Dawid Malan bats?

HUW TURBERVILL: 'Some of his shots were so exquisite that they had angels singing in the astral planes'

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Every so often a batsman comes along who seems to invite greater scrutiny than others.

It was Mark Ramprakash, but that was largely for the right reasons. He was so attractive to watch, so technically pleasing, that seemingly everyone wanted him to succeed.

Bowler runs into bowl, inhale... immaculately executed forward defence, exhale... out in the 20s again, slump in sorrow.

The latest example is Dawid Malan, but, alas, not everyone has been won over by his endeavours yet.

It’s amazing the debates his batting in T20 internationals inspires.

I am a fan, but have WhatsApp debates with a couple of friends every time he comes out to bat.

He hits an exquisite four – "That’s a good shot, I’ll give him that"... then a couple of dot-balls: "He’s a liability."

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Mark Ramprakash: another England batsman who was always under the spotlight

I think he batted well in the fifth, deciding T20I against India at Ahmedabad. He made 68 off 46 balls.

Some of his shots were so exquisite that they had angels singing in the astral planes. It looked as if England could hunt down a mighty target of 225 when he was going well with Jos Buttler. Trouble was they lost, by 36 runs. We need a scapegoat.

He managed a strike-rate of 148, and England needed 188 overall.

They did not lose because of him, however.

The fact is that India got a whopping total because, on the day, they took a liking to the bowling of Chris Jordan (four overs for 57) and Mark Wood (four for 53). It happens.

On the surface Malan’s place in the side ahead of this autumn’s World Cup is unimpeachable.

The 33-year-old is the No1-ranked batsman in the world according to the ICC. He has scored 1,003 runs at an average of 50.15. He has a strike-rate of 144.31. He has made a century and an impressive 10 half-centuries in 24 innings.

That record even has people saying he should be recalled for the ODI team, including Allan Lamb... and the Test team – and don’t forget he has made an Ashes century at Perth (2017/18).

Compare his record to the alternatives using the basic – not CricViz gee-whiz-style – stats: Joe Root has 893 at 35.72 with a strike-rate of 126.30; and the exiled Alex Hales has 1,644 at 31.01, with an SR of 136.65. Liam Livingstone and Tom Banton will presumably feature more in the next World Cup cycle.

Yet occasionally, his critics say, because Malan likes to start steadily on his way to 20 and move up through the gears, he can be a liability.

There are examples: 14 runs off 17 balls in the fourth match of the recent series at Ahmedabad; and before that... 10 off 10 at the MCG, 11 off 13 at Christchurch, 23 off 23 against Pakistan at Old Trafford, and 19 off 20 at Cape Town.

Do this in the World Cup semi-final, it is feared, and England are out.

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Malan and Morgan together at Middlesex, before the former's unpopular departure for Yorkshire

Virat Kohli even teased/sledged Malan during the series, saying India should keep him in.

It’s difficult to pluck many similar examples of innings played by, say, Buttler and Ben Stokes, where they have scored fewer runs than balls faced after batting a few overs at least.

Others cite various lean spells Morgan has suffered in domestic T20 tournaments.

But surely it’s unfair to blame a defeat on one person (even if a side only has 120 balls to play with in a T20).

There are other issues with the team: the talismanic Stokes’ T20 game is still a work in progress: he averages 20 with the bat, and 37 with the ball, for example.

So why is Malan such a marmite figure?

"I am a fan, but have WhatsApp debates with a couple of friends every time he comes out to bat. He hits an exquisite four – 'That’s a good shot, I’ll give him that'... then a couple of dot-balls: 'He’s a liability.'"

I personally find him pleasant, but some say he has that hard-edged mentality from his South African upbringing that rubs team-mates up the wrong way (there is another slightly more famous person of similar background accused of that, of course!).

Malan and Middlesex fell out of love, and when he went to Headingley, his former team-mate Nick Compton gave him the send-off on Twitter: "Good luck Yorkshire." Ouch. It’s worth pointing out that the year before he left, Middlesex made him captain, however.

Morgan knows Malan’s character inside out from their many years together at Lord’s anyhow.
There clearly was some tension when Malan made a brilliant, 48-ball century in late 2019 in the 76-run win over New Zealand at Napier.  

Malan didn’t run a risky bye off the last ball of the innings and Morgan suggested he was protecting his average. Obviously one run can make all the difference. There’s been nothing since, though, at least in public.

Morgan knows that more often than not Malan can be a T20 match-winner: Napier obviously, his debut against South Africa at Cardiff (78 off 44), and similar innings at the Ageas Bowl, Paarl and Cape Town to cite just a few examples.

Ultimately it’s up to Morgan. He can be ruthless – and he will do what he thinks is best for the team.

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