Dawid Malan is an aggressive left-handed batsman of power, panache and obvious class. But his progress has been undermined by inconsistency and a penchant for soft dismissals.

Born in Roehampton but brought up in South Africa, he made his first-class debut for Boland in 2005-06. In 2006 he played 2nd XI cricket for both Middlesex and Worcestershire, making his first-team debut for Middlesex in front of 20,000 people in a T20 Cup match at The Oval. He struggled to find a first-team spot the following season but in 2008 took his chance in style.

An impressive run in the Twenty20 earned him a place in the Championship side, where he scored his maiden century against Northamptonshire. But it was in Twenty20 when Malan made his mark, displaying breathtaking clean-htting in making 103 off 51 balls in the quarter-final against Lancashire, an innings that helped cement his place in the England Performance Squad in November 2008.

He was widely touted as a future England player, but instead his form slumped. In 2013, a Championship average of just 21.50 - across 12 Division One matches and with a top score of 61 - was a desperately poor return for a player of obvious ability. But after almost two years without a Championship hundred, including three dismissals in the 90s, he ended his wait with a century against Northamptonshire in June 2014 - and promptly added another against Somerset a week later. He averaged 45.48 in first-class cricket in 2014. Remarkably, it was the first season in which Malan had averaged over 40. But Malan has been more consistent in white ball cricket, leading to opportunities to play for Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club in Bangladesh. He is also a useful part-time legspin bowler.

ESPNcricinfo staff