Proteas welcome former Lowvelder to the crease

Former Lowvelder Pieter Malan (30) established himself in the South African Test team during his debut for the Proteas in the second Test versus England.

In the first innings, Malan scored five off 17 balls before being caught by Joe Root off the bowling of Stuart Broad at Newlands on Saturday.

Malan replaced the injured Aiden Markram for the second test.

He scored 84 runs in his second innings that lasted just over six hours on Monday and Tuesday, before being caught in the slips by Ben Stokes off the bowling of Sam Curran.

He ended his debut with a Test average of 44,5 runs.

“Being selected for the Proteas means the world to me. All the effort and sacrifices were worth it to be able to represent my country; something I’ll never take for granted and that I’m obviously very proud of,” said Malan on the eve of the match.

After 13 years of first-class cricket, much of it at the South African domestic level, he achieved his boyhood dream of playing for his country.

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He attended Laerskool Bergland and then Hoërskool Nelspruit until he was 17, and his family moved to Pretoria.
Newlands is his home ground. Malan has a first-class batting average of 45,16. He has scored  10 161 runs, that includes 32 centuries and 42 half-centuries.

His brothers, André and Janneman, both professional cricketers, and his parents Johan and Tessa were at Newlands to support him on his debut.

“We are extremely excited and proud of Pieter making his debut at Newlands. We know how hard he worked since making his first-class debut 13 years ago, the physical work he has put into his fitness, working on the mental aspects of the game and how much he sacrificed to be where he is today. To have reached the Proteas from where he was is a story all on its own.

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“Last week we watched some home videos of the three of us playing cricket with our dad in the backyard in Mbombela. Little did we know that all those years in Steiltes would culminate in a test debut for Pieter at Newlands.

“So we as brothers have been fortunate to see the journey from a simple backyard in Mbombela to the hallowed ground which is Newlands.

“I am sure Pieter will agree when I say this would not have been possible without our mom and dad creating the most loving and supporting environment for us growing up. They are making their test debut just as much as he is today,” André and Janneman told Lowvelder on the second morning of the test, the day their brother went out to open the batting for South Africa.

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