Teddington's Malan not thinking of England ambition

9:00am Friday 24th October 2008

Teddington Cricket Club’s Dawid Malan reckons he must put his international aspirations to one side if he is to cash in on Middlesex’s involvement in the Stanford Super Series.

The 21-year-old is expected be in the Crusaders’ team to face England in Antigua on Sunday as they prepare for Monday’s $180,000 winner-takes-all clash with Trinidad & Tobago.

Malan helped his team lift the domestic Twenty20 Cup in July in a dramatic breakthrough season for the Roehampton-born batsman that landed him a new two-year contract at Lord’s.

The Carribean series - bank-rolled by American billionaire Sir Allen Stanford - will provide the youngster with a gold-plated opportunity to press his claims for an England call-up next summer.

A good showing will also put him in pole-position to play a part in Middlesex’s inaugural Champions League campaign in India next month - and a possible contract to play in the lucrative Indian Premier League.

But Malan, who stands to personally pocket $170,000 should the county win both competitions, believes the team must put the potential rewards out of their minds and concentrate on the cricket.

“It is a good opportunity for young players like myself to get on the map and get the exposure you need at this level,” he said.

“England is in my thoughts, but the biggest mistake we can make is if all eleven of us go out to impress, we are not going to perform well as a team.

“It could definitely be a life changing experience for me personally and as a club. If we do well in Antigua and then in the Champions League the exposure will mean we can attract better players.

“On top of that you can attract interest from the IPL. The club wants its players to play in that competition if asked because it shows your are good player and that Middlesex are a force to be reckoned with.”

Malan has signalled his intention to play international cricket for England and, despite the distractions of Twenty20 cricket, it is the Test arena in which he wants to excel.

“You don’t get to play for England just by being good at Twenty20,” he added, having cemented a spot in the Middlesex four-day team in the summer.

“Every player's goal is to play Test cricket for your country and because of that, doing well in the County Championship is still the most important thing for me.”