New Yorkshire CCC batsman Dawid Malan has some lockdown batting tips for youngsters

Malan, who joined the club from Middlesex in November on a four-year deal, has recommended the following stay-at-home drills.

“I do a lot of drills with tennis balls,” said the 32-year-old left-hander.

“The best thing would be to get your parents to throw at you, but if not there are many ways you can improvise.

“One is to get into your stance, trap the ball between your chin and chest and drop it and hit. There are a lot of videos knocking around on social media at the moment.

“One thing to work on is making sure you hit the ball and make it bounce as close to you as possible.

“That works on making sure your weight’s over the ball and ensures you are hitting it as late as possible.”

Malan, whose Yorkshire debut has been put on hold by the crisis, is one of the game’s most destructive T20 batsmen.

And he had this advice for youngsters batting in 20-over cricket when the actions resumes.

“Stick to the basics and try and play strong cricket shots as much as you can,” he said.

“Also, keep your shape. When you do that, you actually score a lot quicker.

“Once you’ve got the momentum with you, it’s about taking calculated risks at the right time.

“When I started my career, I would try and go boundary and then single to get off strike.

“But now, if you can go boundary, boundary, boundary, the game changes massively in your favour.”

Malan went on: “I’ve been fortunate to play with some fantastic players. We had Brendon McCullum at Middlesex, and he’s one of the best to learn from. Eoin Morgan, similar.

“I’m still learning, and have nowhere near cracked it. I’m not sure I ever will.

“But the lessons I’ve learnt from those guys are to keep trying to change the game in a positive way.”

Malan, who hopes to play a key role in any rescheduled T20 Blast, also gave an insight into how he goes about constructing an innings.

“The most important thing is preparation,” he said.

“Do your homework on the opposition – what bowlers’ change-ups are, what do they go to under pressure. It doesn’t necessarily mean you will score runs, but at least you can be confident that you are one step ahead.

“My initial plan as an opener centres around having six overs to bat. Because of that, I feel I can take six to eight balls to get in.

“One thing people don’t seem to understand about T20 is you have a lot more time than you think.

“I always think, ‘I’m only ever two shots away from being ahead of the game’. That’s the thing that relaxes me at the crease.

“I could be one off five balls but go four, four, and be nine off seven; or even six, six and be 13 off seven. That reverses the pressure.

“My aim is to play strong cricket shots in the first few balls. Then, once I’ve got used to conditions and how the bowlers are bowling, I’ll start to expand and can maybe get the team to 55 or 60 off the powerplay.”

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