Yorkshire Vikings v Durham Jets - T20 Blast: Why Dawid Malan is happy to be out of bubbles and enjoying his cricket again

DAWID MALAN says he is enjoying his cricket again after months of being in biosecure bubbles.

The Yorkshire and England batsman admits that he lost his spark during that period.

“It’s been a tough couple of years in the bubbles,” he said. “It’s not been enjoyable. Last year, I didn’t find any cricket enjoyable, constantly being in and out of bubbles, and when you weren’t in bubbles you were on the cricket field, so there was no release.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“It was just relentless, whereas getting dropped after the Ashes, as disappointing as that was, it actually gave me a bit of time to freshen up and get away from the game, which I haven’t had for maybe three/four/five years. It’s definitely helped from a mental side to have a bit of time away.”

Decent nick: Yorkshire Vikings' Dawid Malan has been in good form this season. Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.comDecent nick: Yorkshire Vikings' Dawid Malan has been in good form this season. Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com
Decent nick: Yorkshire Vikings' Dawid Malan has been in good form this season. Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com

Malan, 34, has been in fine form since, starting off the season with five scores of 50-plus in six innings and striking half-centuries in the last two T20 matches.

The left-hander is the fourth-highest run-scorer in Division One of the County Championship behind Ben Compton, Harry Brook and Sam Hain, with 528 runs at 66.00, and Yorkshire are now starting to see the best of him in T20 too; Malan’s previous appearances for the club in the 20-over format produced 115 runs in 10 innings.

“I’ve played a lot of T20 cricket (in my career), but the games I’ve played for Yorkshire in the last couple of years, both times I’ve just come out of a six-month bubble, or a two-month bubble, and it’s been difficult,” said Malan, who joined Yorkshire in late 2019.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“To be honest, I’ve probably not been in the mental or physical state to play after those bubbles. That’s been tough, whereas this year I feel like I’m actually fresh and enjoying my cricket. It’s just nice to be able to go out and play without the mental side of things being pretty tired.”

Debut: West Indies' Dominic Drakes is set for his Vikings debut against Durham tonight. (Photo by Randy Brooks / AFP)Debut: West Indies' Dominic Drakes is set for his Vikings debut against Durham tonight. (Photo by Randy Brooks / AFP)
Debut: West Indies' Dominic Drakes is set for his Vikings debut against Durham tonight. (Photo by Randy Brooks / AFP)

Malan’s half-centuries in those last two T20 games, at home to Leicestershire and Derbyshire, both came in a losing cause. But he stressed there was no cause for concern as Yorkshire prepared for game No 5 on Friday at home to Durham, having started the competition with a win and a tie.

“You pretty much need to win half your Blast games to get to the quarter-finals and then play three really good games from there, whereas a lot of people think that you have to win every single game to win the tournament, which is just nonsense,” he added. “You need to peak at the right time.

“I’m not trying to make an excuse because we haven’t been good enough in the four games so far. With the team that we’ve had on paper, to only walk away with one win is ultimately not good enough, but we have got one win which means that we need six more in 10 games which is very do-able.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Yorkshire are set to give debuts against Durham to New Zealand batsman Finn Allen and West Indies all-rounder Dominic Drakes.

Allen is here for the rest of the 14-match group stage, while Drakes is filling in for Pakistan all-rounder Shadab Khan, who has returned home for a one-day international series against the West Indies but is back for the return fixture at Durham on June 17.

“Finn is a fantastic and explosive batter which just adds to the firepower,” said Malan.

“He always strikes at 150/160 no matter where he bats, and to have someone like that who can change a game is fantastic.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“I haven’t come across Dominic Drakes that much, but I know of him and I’ve seen him play every now and again, and he’s what we need; we need a bowler.

“I think that’s probably evident with all the injuries that we’ve got, and it’s been quite tough on the guys who have played and they’re doing everything they can and getting plenty of experience.”

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.