England v Windies: Dawid Malan hails Alastair Cook masterclass
Friday 18 August 2017 21:45, UK
Dawid Malan hailed a "batting masterclass" from Alastair Cook for helping him to a first major breakthrough in Test cricket.
Cook ground the West Indies down with a chanceless 243 on day two of England's inaugural day/night Test at Edgbaston, helping the hosts to establish a strong position before rain brought an early end to the final floodlit session.
The tourists took shelter at 44-1 in reply to England's 514-8 declared, James Anderson with the solitary success and Malan relieved after making 65 alongside the country's record run-scorer.
"He gave me a batting masterclass," the Malan said of Cook. "It was the best seat in the house watching him bat and compose his innings.
"To score 243, whether it's a good wicket or not is a fantastic achievement.
"He didn't look like he strayed once from the first over of the game to the over he got out.
"For a young player at international standard to come and watch how a master goes at his work, to watch him compile his runs and be as disciplined as he was shows what you need to do to be successful at this level."
Malan's four previous Test innings against South Africa had yielded just 35 runs and the 29-year-old was well aware he needed to buck that trend sooner rather than later.
"I needed that to be fair, I didn't look like scoring a run against the South Africans," he said. "So it was nice to hit a few in the middle and feel more composed at the crease.
"In the back of my mind I knew it would turn around so it was nice to have a meaningful contribution."
As well as grinding down the visiting attack and registering a 31st Test hundred, four of which converted into doubles, Cook also played his part in settling his junior partner.
"He's quite chatty," revealed Malan. "I've got a few habits I like to do in the middle and he was happy to go along with them to make me feel comfortable. He's a fantastic player and a great bloke as well."
Live Test Cricket
Live coverage of the first Test between England and Windies continues on Sky Sports Cricket at 12.30pm on Saturday, with over-by-over commentary and in-play clips on our live blog on Sky Sports digital platforms.
