Debutant Malan seals series win for England
Dawid Malan became England's top-scoring Twenty20 International debutant as the home side beat South Africa by 19 runs in Cardiff on Sunday to seal a 2-1 series win despite resting Eoin Morgan, the regular captain.
Malan, playing in place of Morgan, a fellow Middlesex man, made 78 in a total of 181 of 8 after England was asked to bat by South Africa, which then collapsed to 86 for 5, with Mason Crane, the leg-spinner, taking the prize scalp of AB de Villiers (35) for his first wicket at this level.
South Africa rarely threatened England's total, despite some big-hitting late on from Mangaliso Mosehle (36) and Andile Phehlukwayo (27 not out).
The South Africans’ fate was effectively sealed when Tom Curran, in only his second T20I match, conceded just seven runs off the penultimate over on his way to 2 for 22.
Malan's impressive 44-ball innings featuring 12 fours and two sixes surpassed the 46 made by Paul Collingwood in England's very first T20I match – a 100-run win over Australia in Southampton in 2005.
Alex Hales and Malan, later named Player of the Match, shared a second-wicket stand of 105 in 10.3 overs. But from 166 for 3, England lost its next five wickets for 14 runs. Dane Paterson, who was twice on a hat-trick, led South Africa's attack with 4 for 32.
Jason Roy, dropped on nought, fell cheaply when caught behind trying to ramp Morne Morkel.
Malan, who came in at No. 3, got off the mark in style by pulling Chris Morris for six over mid-wicket. Hales should have been out on 10 when he mistimed a drive off Morris only for Phehlukwayo to spill a routine catch, with England 49 for 1 in the seventh over.
Malan, 29, kept the runs coming, driving Morkel straight back over his head for a six. But he also showed touch to go with power in flipping Imran Tahir over short fine-leg for a four that took him to fifty.
The stand was broken when Hales (36) holed out at deep mid-wicket where David Miller took a good catch and Malan fell soon afterwards caught at long-on off Tahir.
After the change of ends, Curran carried on from where he left off on debut in a three-run defeat in Taunton on Friday, dismissing Reeza Hendricks for a duck.
De Villiers looked in good touch as he twice hoisted Crane for leg-side sixes in the 11th over. But the last ball of that over saw him fail to get enough height and Hales took a well-judged catch at the boundary.
Then, when Miller was caught behind down the leg side by Jos Buttler, leading in Morgan’s absence, off Chris Jordan, South Africa was 86 for 5 in the 12th over and headed for defeat.
