Dwaid Malan leaves Middlesex after 13 years, signs 4-year deal with Yorkshire
After 13 long and successful years at Middlesex, where he was supposed to stay till 2021, England international Dawid Malan has moved to Yorkshire on a four-year deal. Yorkshire coach Andrew Gale hailed Malan as the player they were looking for since years to stabilise their batting.
Yorkshire seemed to have cracked a promising deal as they signed England international Dawid Malan for four years. Malan has been an integral part of Middlesex since 2006 and was supposed to stay there for two more years, until 2021.
The move came after Yorkshire coach Andrew Gale recently stressed to strengthen their inconsistent batting side with the inclusion of an experienced batter and Malan seem to fit the job description. Malan has 11,229 runs under his belt in first-class cricket that includes 25 centuries at an average of 37.43.
"As soon as we realised that Dawid had the potential to leave Middlesex, he was a player that we always wanted to speak to," Gale told Cricbuzz. "He fits the mould of what we are looking for. It is fair to say that we have lacked consistency with the bat for a number of years. We have looked at bringing people in for a while, but it had to fit the right mould for us.
"We needed somebody with experience and Dawid has got Test experience. Not so long ago, we were watching him score runs for England in the Ashes."
Malan is currently in the England T20 side which is touring New Zealand right now and will be joining Yorkshire after the conclusion of the series. Malan has been in quite decent form in white-ball cricket as he has four half-centuries in seven innings in the shortest format of the game. Malan has also been in superb form in county cricket as he is one of the seven batsmen who crossed the 1000-run mark this year.
"Dawid's a three-format player, so he is a perfect signing for us in this time of our development," Yorkshire's Director of Cricket Martyn Moxon told Cricbuzz. "We are rebuilding our team and he is going to be a massive part of this going forward. Dawid is obviously keen to rekindle his England Test career as well as his white ball career. He also has huge ambitions to come here and win trophies. We have a highly motivated player coming to us and one with great talent."
Malan shared that this move to Yorkshire is the result of his desire to endure some new challenges as he thanked the Middlesex support staff and players for their cooperation.
"I have had 13 happy and successful seasons with Middlesex, and I will always be grateful to the staff, players and supporters for their encouragement over the years. However, this feels like the right time to embrace a new challenge and I am excited by the prospect of joining Yorkshire, one of the great county clubs in English cricket."