Joe Root, England’s Test captain, has hinted at having Dawid Malan, a Yorkshire batsman, in the lineup for the third Test against India at Headingley.
Malan, who last played a Test match in 2018, could be the answer to England’s middle-order batting difficulties, which cost them the second Test at Lord’s.
Root stated that his Yorkshire teammate has played lots of international cricket as well as red-ball cricket in county cricket, which will assist the top team in scoring some critical runs.
“Dawid Malan will offer us a lot of experience in that top three, not necessarily in terms of international experience in Test cricket, but he has played a huge amount of international cricket, he has dealt with pressure and he has played red-ball cricket over the course of his career and he has had great success. We know he is capable of big things in Test cricket,” said Root during a virtual press conference.
After nearly five years away from Test cricket, Haseeb Hameed returned, only to be dismissed on the first ball he faced off Mohammed Siraj’s bowling. In the second innings, the Nottinghamshire batsman could only add nine runs.
Players like Hameed and Rory Burns, according to Root, must get off to a fantastic start and score some huge runs for the club.
“I mean, Haseeb Hameed and Rory Burns are two fine players, they are very different in their styles, it is an opportunity for them to score big runs and get us off to a good start, hopefully, we can follow through on that,” Root said.
Root has scored the most runs in England’s batting line-up, with 386 runs from four innings, and only Jonny Bairstow has managed to contribute a few runs.
England were bowled out for 120 in the second innings against India at Lord’s, with Root leading the way with 33 runs. In order to produce massive totals, the England captain challenged his teammates to stand up and form substantial partnerships.
“I think it has been a very challenging summer, we have come across some challenging surfaces as well. We have to find ways to get better, when you look at batting in Test cricket, it revolves around big partnerships. That has got to be our focus, we need to look to have substantial partnerships. In England, starting your innings can be the hardest thing. The first innings in the second Test showed that we improved from the first Test,” Root said.
“As I said after the last game, when I have missed out when others have come to the front. I know it has been me in the last couple of games where I have scored the majority of the runs but it is no reason why someone else cannot do that. I want to keep producing big runs, this week presents an opportunity for others to do the same,” he added.
The third Test begins on Wednesday, with India leading the five-match series 1-0. (August 25).
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