Tino Best pokes fun at Dawid Malan after his omission from the England Test squad

Not a lot of fans of this generation would remember Tino Best, but the English cricketers know a thing or two about him. A regular county player, Best also boasts of the second highest score for a number 11 batsman in Test cricket as the West Indian fell agonizingly short of a century, being dismissed on 95, against the English team. Indian fans would also remember his battle with Sachin Tendulkar in his last Test match as his tight lines and lengths made the maestro work hard for his runs. Now, well into his thirties, Best played his last competitive game almost a year ago.

However, he still continues to remain popular in the English media and amongst cricketers, maintaining a friendly rapport with quite a few of them. Most recently, the former Hampshire player picked on Middlesex’s Dawid Malan, after he was predictably omitted from the English Test side for the second Test match against India at Lord’s.

Aggregating just 28 runs in the two innings in the first Test at Edgbaston, Malan came into the spotlight also for his poor slip catching as he was accountable for dropped chances in both the first and second innings, one of which cost England more than a 100 runs and almost the game as Virat Kohli was given a life en route his mammoth knock of 149.

Malan’s Test record is modest at best, as he averages just 27 as a top order batsman in the 15 Test matches he has played with a solitary century to his credit. He has been replaced by Ollie Pope, another 20-year-old who would be looking to make an impact like Sam Curran did. His first-class statistics are extremely impressive as he averages 63 in the 15 FC matches for Surrey with 4 centuries.

Tino Best was quick to react on social media as news of the 30-year-old’s omission surfaced. He said that he was looking forward to “watch the 2nd Test minus Malan”. In his tweet, he also joked that the selectors had “finally” seen his tweets and made the right decision to drop him, adding a subsequent hashtag that said, “Was playing for his good looks”.

Here is Tino’s tweet:

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