England cricket team are present part of the T20I series against defending champions Australia, in what stands as their final preparation for the 2022 T20 World Cup, Down Under, which kicks off from Sunday onwards. England wrapped up the series with wins in both the first two matches of the series, giving themselves a huge boost heading into the tournament. Ahead of the series decider on Friday, there was a certain video from the second T20I that went viral where Australia great Michael Hussey had mentions of Virat Kohli and Babar Azam in his speech for a star England batter.
Dawid Malan played his 50th T20I match for England on Wednesday. And ahead of the match, Hussey presented him with the special cap and before handing it to him, the former Aussie cricketer showered Malan with immense praise.
“Well, this is something I never thought I will do in my lifetime, an English cap. Congratulations to Mal, who is playing his 50th game for England today. Obviously a lot of highlights in your career already – one of four centurions for England, second-highest scorer ever in the history of T20 cricket, right behind Alex Hales, number one player in the world for a period of time and also the fastest ever to 1000 runs, better than Virat Kohli and Babar Azam, I believe, quicker by a few games,” he said.
Malan had starred in England’s eight-run win against Australia in that match. He scored a sensational 49-ball 82 as England amassed 178 for seven before the bowlers restricted the hosts for 170 for six.
“But as Jos consistently said throughout this tour, so far we’ve got to keep looking forward, we’ve got to keep playing what’s in front of us. And I certainly hope over the next nine or ten games or whatever it is you have plenty more individual success but more importantly I hope you have a World Cup winning medal around your neck in about a month of time,” Hussey, who has been added to England’s squad as a support staff for the T20 World Cup, added in that speech.
