A big season awaits Janneman Malan who will aim to “take every opportunity given” to him, writes Khalid Mohidin.
The Malan name has always been associated with sport in South Africa. And Janneman has always done justice to the name, with dominant performances for every team he has he played for.
Coming off a fantastic provincial season for North West in the 2017/18 season, scoring over 1000 first-class runs, Malan signed with the Cobras for the 2018-19 season.
He had an exquisite campaign across all formats which saw him pick up “the Young Player of the Year”, “Players Player of the Year” and the grand prize, “Cape Cobras Player of the Year” at the Cobras Awards evening.
He racked up 564 runs at an average of 51.27 in the 4-Day Franchise Series and smashed 435 runs in the One-Day Cup. The right-handed batsman also struck 149 runs in the CSA T20 Challenge series.
His performances earned him a Proteas call-up for the T20I series against Pakistan and he played two matches. The 23-year-old showed flashes of his ability on his debut where he hit three 4s and two 6s during his 33, but only managed 2 in his second outing.
Malan has unbelievable talent and promise to become a future Proteas star. His selection for SA Emerging shows that the brains trust at CSA also believe that. He hammered 85 and 108 in his two matches played for SA Emerging, both against a talented University Sports South Africa XI.
READ: BRAND, POTGIETER LEAD USSA XI TO THEIR FIRST VICTORY
This season will be the year that Malan may be given the opportunity to prove his worth and aim for new heights, by staking his claim for a permanent national spot.
But what does Malan think about the new season?
“There is a lot of learnings to take from last season,” Malan said exclusively to Cricket Fanatics Magazine. “The goal is to keep growing as a cricketer and score more runs.
“I can only focus on what’s in front of me, so whatever it is I will push myself to take every opportunity given [to me].”
Malan is currently playing for the SA Emerging side in their series against USSA and Sri Lanka Emerging.
