PCA PRESS RELEASE
Vitality IT20 Player of the Summer sets his sights on next year’s World Cup.
Dawid Malan has spoken to the PCA about nailing down a regular spot in the England IT20 line-up, a unique summer in the bio-secure bubble, next year’s T20 World Cup and more after being named Vitality IT20 Player of the Summer at the NatWest Cricket Awards on Saturday.
The ICC’s number one-ranked IT20 batsman cracked 213 runs at an average of 42.6 in his six IT20 outings against Pakistan and Australia this summer – enough for Malan to earn 51.33 PCA MVP points and claimed the coveted award over the weekend.
The big-hitting batsman is loving life in an England shirt, but admits that even he wasn’t sure of his position in the team following a string of injuries in the lead-up to this summer’s 20-over schedule.
However, the 33-year-old says that receiving the backing of captain Eoin Morgan at the start of the summer has led to him taking a more “relaxed” approach to his game, and he hasn’t looked back since…
“At one point it didn’t look like we’d see a ball bowled at either domestic or international level, so to have the summer that we’ve had is just unbelievable,” said Malan, “all credit to the ECB for their achievements this summer.
“I tore my calf twice just before we went into the Test bubble, which was disappointing and I had to put in a lot of hard work in the gym just to get back playing.
“Thankfully, I got picked for the IT20s after proving my fitness and it’s been a fantastic summer since.
“The position I’m in – I never know whether I’m going to get a game or not and if there’s a slot available for me. Being told my Morgs that I would play every IT20 against Pakistan just relaxed me so much. It just took the pressure off.
“There’s still a long way to go until the World Cup, so I just want to keep focusing on taking those opportunities to put my name in the hat for when the tournament does come around.”
Full list of NatWest Cricket Award winners:
- NatWest PCA Men’s Player of the Year – Chris Woakes (England / Warwickshire)
- NatWest PCA Women’s Player of the Year – Sarah Glenn (England Women)
- Vitality PCA Young Player of the Year – Zak Crawley (England / Kent)
- Test Player of the Summer – Stuart Broad
- Royal London ODI Player of the Summer – David Willey
- Vitality IT20 Player of the Summer – Dawid Malan
- Bob Willis Trophy Player of the Year – Craig Overton (Somerset)
- Vitality Blast Player of the Year – Will Jacks (Surrey)
- Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy Player of the Year – Georgia Adams (Southern Vipers)
- Greene King Team of the Year – Alastair Cook (Essex), Jake Libby (Worcestershire), Tom Lammonby (Somerset), Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire), Will Jacks (Surrey), Chris Cooke (Glamorgan) [wk], Ryan Higgins (Gloucestershire), Craig Overton (Somerset), Simon Harmer (Essex) [c], Josh Davey (Somerset)
- ECB Special Award – Prof Nick Peirce (ECB)
- #Raisethebat Award – Jane Reeson (Over CC, Cambridgeshire)
- Connecting Communities Award – Jamie Saunders (Isleham CC, Cambridgeshire)
- Proactive Leadership Award – Miles Horner (Macclesfield CC, Cheshire)
About NatWest’s partnership with cricket:
NatWest has been involved in cricket for 39 years, supporting cricket communities from the ground up. Its sponsorship starts with community club cricket and extends to the pinnacle of the game, as the principal partner of England Cricket men’s, women’s, age-groups, disability and VI teams.
NatWest CricketForce is an annual event that has helped thousands of clubs to upgrade their facilities and is the United Kingdom’s largest annual sport-volunteering programme. This year, NatWest adapted its programme to create a digital, six-week programme throughout July and August to help grassroot clubs get up and running – including free online financial advice and toolkits as well as providing clubs with PPE equipment.
Over 3200 clubs signed up for NatWest CricketForce this year, beating 2019’s record of 2200. Just under 3000 PPE kits have been sent to clubs and over 1300 club members have engaged with NatWest’s Club cricket financial guide, a financial toolkit to help clubs navigate through the difficult financial environment post-lockdown.
NatWest is also the main charity partner of Chance to Shine, which uses cricket to engage with children and young adults, aiding education, social cohesion and wellbeing.
To find out more about NatWest’s involvement in cricket at all levels of the game, head to: natwest.com/cricket
