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Dawid Malan says England have not given up on winning the Ashes, although they will have to improve a lot in the third round in Melbourne from Sunday to get back into the series.
The senior batsman said the morale in the English camp was “well” after some humble debates in Brisbane and Adelaide.
“The boys are hurting after their performances in the last two games,” he told reporters at Melbourne Cricket Ground on Thursday.
“We realize we weren’t good enough in every aspect of the game. The boys want to win, we want to win the series too. I know we have a long way to go, but we have to do well and play. The best cricket in this test game is to get back into the series.”
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Malan’s batting average has given him some of England’s few highlights with Brisban’s 82 innings and 80 in Adelaide, but the 34-year-old admitted he needed to be better.
“Me and (Joe Root) have been able to score hundreds of goals in two innings and we haven’t been able to get a shot, which will probably cost us a hundred runs as a team, which puts us back in the game,” he said.
“Making a good 80’s, a great 180’s, so that’s the goal.”
As England openers Rory Burns and Haseeb Hameed are struggling to run, there has been talk of bringing fresh blood to the head of the order, especially Zak Crawley.
“Zak is a very talented player,” Malan said. “He’s a tall man who plays the short ball very well, so there’s every chance he’s going to be very good here.”
Malan said he would also consider raising the order to open himself if asked.
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“I’m going to play anywhere in England,” he said. “I don’t see myself as an opener but if they want me to, I’m happy to do whatever it takes.”
Malan said the disruption of training in England left many players with less experience in a bad situation to have to learn how to play in Australian conditions at work.
“(But) everyone is ready for a challenge, everyone is very keen to face the Australians,” he added.
“We do white ball cricket, we try to catch them, so we get that thought and not just get into our shells and try to survive.”
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