5 things you may not know about Dawid Malan

The 30-year-old registered his maiden Test century on day one of the third Ashes Test at the WACA in Perth

Published Dec 14, 2017

Last updated Dec 14, 2017

Middlesex left-hander Dawid Malan became England’s first centurion of this Ashes series and closed the day unbeaten on 110 off 174 balls.

Here, Press Association Sport looks at five things you might not know about the 30-year-old.

Disneyland warm-up

Malan spent time in Disneyland Paris just ahead of the Ashes tour starting. A picture that appeared on his Twitter and Instagram pages in October showed him at the theme park, accompanied by his girlfriend Claire Mottram. There may have been some Mickey Mouse moments from his England colleagues off the field – but his performance on day one of the Third Test was not one of them.

English-born, South Africa-raised

Malan was born in London but moved to South Africa at an early age. His breakthrough in first-class cricket came in the Western Cape for Boland in 2006. Later that year, he earned a contract with Middlesex, the county where his father played club cricket. The Malans are a sporting family – his sister Line Malan plays hockey for South Africa.

Mixed fortunes in England debuts

Malan celebrates his half century against South Africa (Nigel French/PA)

Improved form against West Indies

Malan hooks for four against the West Indies at Edgbaston (Nick Potts/PA)

Freddie’s seal of approval

Andrew Flintoff has been singing the praises of Malan (Anthony Devlin/PA)