“After the previous game, the team asked for a hundred. Luckily, we could give them two,” said Proteas batsman, Janneman Malan, after South Africa won the third ODI against Ireland by 70 runs. 

Notching a 225-run opening partnership with Quinton de Kock out of a total score of 346, Malan wanted to ensure he was there at the end after de Kock was dismissed. “When he went, the next KPI (key performance indicator) was just to have an ‘in’ batter there at the end,” said Malan. 

Having scored two hundreds and two fifties in seven games at an average of 120, Malan tries to keep things as simple as possible.

“You just want to simplify it as well as you can. I just broke it down into what’s my job, what can I do, what can I control – to break it down ball for ball.” 

Given that Malan is not a regular member of South Africa’s first XI, Malan’s performances reflect a composure that is rare for a player who has only played seven ODIs.

“On this level, you don’t know how many games you’re going to have. I just made it clear to myself mentally that if I’m not playing, I want to go out on my own terms. I’m going to back it, I’m not going to play in desperation for my spot because then it’s going to be difficult anyway. That’s where I let go and do it as well as I can. If that’s not good enough, then I can deal with that.”