Dawid Malan hits majestic maiden Test century as England enjoy their best day of the Ashes so far

England 305-4: Malan teamed up with Jonny Bairstow to hit an unbroken 174 partnership as Joe Root's side started strongly batting first in Perth

Dawid Malan hit a superb century to put England in a strong position on day one in Perth (Getty)

It was the best day of England’s series; it was very possibly the best day of Dawid Malan’s career. On a brilliant, true WACA surface that evoked some of the classic tussles of old, Malan’s maiden Test century handed England a crucial early advantage in the third Test. Just as importantly, on what has been a fraught and difficult tour, it gave his side that rarest of commodities: hope.

If reaching three figures was a cathartic moment for Malan, a batsman who toiled for a decade in the county game waiting for his chance, then it may prove equally transformative for his team-mates. England’s first century of the series may have been well overdue, but in blunting Australia’s pace attack on a frighteningly quick surface, he has shown the way forward, offered England half a foothold in the series.

It is not an exaggeration to suggest that at 131-4, with their top four all back in the dressing room, England were staring disaster in the face. But in putting on an unbeaten partnership of 174, Malan and Jonny Bairstow finally elevated England above the furious white noise of narrative and counter-narrative, stories about team discipline and spot-fixing, that had threatened to engulf this tour whole.

This was such a contrast from the taut tussles of Brisbane and Adelaide. From the full-throttle start made by Mark Stoneman, who made a Test-best 56, to Bairstow and Malan’s courageous counter-attack against the second new ball late on, it was Test cricket at its most raw and engrossing. Helmets were struck, words were exchanged. There was sublime strokeplay, world-class fast bowling and even a touch of controversy. The run rate fluctuated over the day, ending on a healthy 3.42.

As Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood steamed in, on a pitch appreciably quicker than many recent Waca Tests, there was almost something primal about it, especially in the afternoon session when Australia peppered Stoneman and then Malan with a short-pitched salvo. It was bowling as assault, batting as physical survival. Wicket-keeper Tim Paine could have used a stepladder. Occasionally bouncers would fly clean over his head and away for four.

But as the evening wound on, it was England who were left standing. It was Australia who were dropping their catches, who were slipping over in the field, who even looked a touch weary as they left the field at stumps. Malan and Bairstow will resume with an opportunity to push England’s total past 400 and perhaps even beyond, towards the sort of score that would, at the very least, avert a 5-0 whitewash.

Australia will certainly relish their turn with the bat. Root had no hesitation on making first use of the pitch on winning his third consecutive toss, for if you can negotiate the new ball, the bounce is even and the fast outfield gives its runs up easily. England began rapidly, reaching 26 in the fifth over before the early loss of Alastair Cook, trapped plumb LBW to give his 150th Test an inauspicious start.


 James Vince fell first 
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James Vince started nicely, making a conscious effort to play the ball straighter in his innings, and leaving very well. He and Stoneman signalled their intent to Nathan Lyon early on, Stoneman sweeping, Vince trotting down the wicket, neither afraid to hit against the spin, of which there was not much at all.

But as ever with Vince, you know what came next. You can probably even picture it. Hazlewood gave him a wonderful working-over, bowling him 18 straight dot balls to pin him back in his crease. The next time Vince tried to drive, his feet weren’t quite moving right. Caught behind, again.

This is the curious thing about Vince, and to a lesser extent Stoneman. Batting is supposed to get easier the longer you stay in. Vince and Stoneman, by contrast, almost make it look harder. Vince again squandered a good start; Stoneman has now passed 50 three times without reaching 60. Having been dropped by Lyon at first slip on 52, and then cracked on the helmet by Hazlewood, Australia successfully rattled him with the short ball, against which he is yet to look truly convincing.


 Joe Root was dismissed by Pat Cummins for 20 
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Joe Root was unfortunate, strangled down the leg side after a breezy start. So too, ultimately, was Stoneman, triggered on review by third umpire Aleem Dar, who deemed a tiny hillock of noise on Snickometer enough to overturn the original decision. Watching from the dressing room, Root slapped the door in anger. England had gone from 89-1 to 131-4 and the crows were beginning to circle.

But perhaps that was where Australia’s luck ran out. Malan could easily have been run out, by David Warner when Bairstow called him through for a single that perhaps only he could have made. And gradually, unfussily, the Middlesex left-hander found his feet. His repertoire of strokes is not as extensive as say, Root’s, or even Stoneman’s. But he has an ability to release pressure, to avoid getting bogged down for long periods, to score steadily but unfussily: the flick, the push, the controlled pull for one. His signature dish, the cover drive, is equally effective against pace or spin, and although he plays it a lot, it very rarely seems to get him out.


 Mark Stoneman was caught behind in controversial circumstances 
 (Getty)

The ball was getting older. The hot sun was beginning to sap Australia’s bowlers. The ball would still zip through to Paine, but at waist height rather than head height. Bairstow, relishing the responsibility of being promoted to No6, looked busy at the crease: the late cut, the nudge into the leg side for two, the powerful straight drive. Together Malan and Bairstow pushed the field back, milked the singles, saw off first the pacemen and then Lyon, forcing Smith to bowl Mitchell Marsh and himself to pass the time before the second new ball arrived.

And so began the final act of the day. Isn’t it strange how something as simple as a ball change can completely alter the feel of a day? Suddenly the ball was flying through again, Malan and Bairstow were jumping around, the crowd were getting back into the game. On 92, Malan drove and edged, only for Cameron Bancroft to shell the catch at third slip.


 Malan passed three figures for the first time in Tests 
 (Getty)

But instead of retreating into their shells, England continued to play their shots, aware that the hard ball also provided a scoring opportunity. Bairstow drove Starc ethereally through the covers for four. And in the following over, a short ball from Hazlewood, a pull through square leg, and finally there it was: three figures for Malan, marked with little more than a lift of the helmet and a modest raise of the bat.

It was a celebration that recognised the mountain that England still have to climb. Australia are still supremely confident, still suited and booted, still 2-0 up in the series. But after a fortnight when it has occasionally seemed the world is out to get them, England provided the sort of response of which perhaps only they believed they were capable.