Malan is a left-handed batsman and occasional leg-spin bowler who originally represented Boland in South Africa and the MCC Young Cricketers in 2006. He joined Middlesex on 7 July 2006 and he made his 1st XI debut in a Twenty20 Cup tie versus Surrey at The Oval on the same day. In 2007 Malan was the top run scorer in the Second XI Championship with 969 runs at 51.00. He made his first-class debut for Middlesex in June 2008, scoring 132 not out. His father represented Western Province B, Northern Transvaal B and Teddington, as a right-handed batsman and a right-arm fast bowler. On 8 July 2008, Malan hit the 24th century in the history of the Twenty20 Cup after compiling 103 off 54 balls in the quarter-final against the Lancashire Lightning. This made him the first player to score a century batting at number six in a T20 match and he held the record for the highest score at the position until July 2018. He played List-A domestic cricket for Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club in the Dhaka Premier League of Bangladesh for two seasons from 2013–15, contributing with both bat and ball. Malan played for Peshawar Zalmi in the first season of PSL and continued with them the following season in which they won the Final played in Lahore. He was part of a very select group of foreign players who agreed to play in the Final, due to terrorism threats afflicting Pakistan for several years and as a result of this he gained a fan following in Pakistan. On 1 February 2018, he was appointed as Middlesex captain across all three formats. He stepped down following the 2019 season. On 4 November 2019, he signed a four-year contract to play for Yorkshire from the 2020 season.
International career
In June 2017, he was named in England's Twenty20 International squad for the series against South Africa. He made 78 on his T20I debut for England against South Africa on 25 June 2017. England won the match and Malan adjudged 'man of the match' for his batting performance. In July 2017, Malan was added to England's Test squad, ahead of the third Test against South Africa. He made his Test debut for England against South Africa on 27 July 2017 as a no. 5 batsman. He made 1, before being bowled out by a yorker from Kagiso Rabada. In the second innings he was dismissed for 10 – an unimpressive debut compared to his T20 debut the previous month. He also failed to impress in his second Test, raising questions over his Test future. However, he managed to keep his place for the series against the West Indies and was able to score his maiden test fifty, helping England to win in their first day-night test. During the 3rd Ashes Test Match at the WACA, Malan scored his maiden Test century. His 100 was also the first century in the series from the England team. In April 2019, Malan was added to England's One Day International squad for their one-off match against Ireland. He made his ODI debut for England against Ireland on 3 May 2019. On 8 November 2019, in the fourth T20I against New Zealand, Malan scored his first century, and the fastest by an England batsman in a T20I match, from just 48 balls. On 29 May 2020, Malan was named in a 55-man group of players to begin training ahead of international fixtures starting in England following the COVID-19 pandemic.
