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Malan wants reaction from England

The England batter is hoping for a good response from his side at the MCG

Dawid Malan says internal competition for spots and a "never say die" approach to serve England's Twenty20 side well as the Gillette T20 tri-series moves to Melbourne. 

England's white-ball outfit dominated Australia in the Gillette ODI series in a 4-1 victory, but slumped to a five-wicket loss in a Hobart T20. 

Malan's fluent 50 had positioned England for a major total at Blundstone Arena only for a middle-order collapse to leave the bowlers defending a modest target of 156.

Malan unleashes fine fifty for England

Australia duly carried home by Glenn Maxwell's unbeaten century, a feat of ball-striking brilliance that might have been stopped in its tracks had the third umpire not controversially overturned Jason Roy's low catch.

The teams meet again in Melbourne on Saturday, scene of their curtain-raising win in the first ODI, and Malan expects to see a reaction.

"It's one of the main traits of the whole England team, we have that never say die attitude," he said.

"That's the beauty of this T20 team. Everybody is fighting for a spot. Everyone wants to push the other guy out and everyone is trying to do everything they can to perform to help the team win. 

"At the end of the day if you produce match-winning performances you play a lot longer."

Maxi lights up Hobart with superb century

Malan's emphasis on competition for places in the away dressing room is, perhaps, telling.

He made his international debut in a T20 against South Africa seven months ago, earning player-of-the-match honours for a vibrant 78, yet was not seen again in limited-overs cricket until Wednesday.

He may have played 10 Tests in the intervening period but, for a 30-year-old latecomer to the highest level, there is a hunger to be involved across the board.

Malan watched from the sidelines throughout the recent 50-over campaign and has been left out of the forthcoming series against New Zealand. Indeed, he still awaits his debut in the format – an honour that will surely become an inevitability if he continues to bat with the assurance on show in Hobart. 

"There's a World Cup coming up in 2019 and they (selectors) are looking ahead to that," he said.

"They've obviously got their group of players and it's nice to be in the 20 or 22 they've got their eyes on. 

"Hopefully I can keep scoring runs and force my way into the squad because that's the only way I can get an opportunity.

"It's a tough team to break into and I just have to be patient. I've been patient for long enough in my career so if I keep scoring runs in the Twenty20 when I get opportunities hopefully that can put pressure on the guys in the squad."

Australia's match-winner, Maxwell, has endured his own frustrations in recent months.

The allrounder was not required throughout the Ashes and left out of the one-day series until the final match, and had his training methods questioned by captain Steve Smith.

Fans have been clamouring to see Maxwell back in action and, with some powerful domestic form behind him, he has started the tri-series with a total of 143 runs in two unbeaten innings against New Zealand and England.

And he was keen to share the acclaim with Australian great Ricky Ponting, who has temporarily joined the coaching set-up for the T20s.

"I've made it pretty public that he's one of my childhood idols and to have him on my side, in my corner and backing me is awesome," Maxwell said.

"Just having little chats as well. We've obviously been doing a little bit of work off the field even just with my preparation, which has been pretty consistent over the last couple of games. (He's) been outstanding."

Gillette T20 trans-Tasman Tri-Series

Australia squad: David Warner (c), Aaron Finch (vc), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Ben Dwarshuis, Travis Head, Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, D'Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Marcus Stoinis, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa.

England squad: Eoin Morgan (c), Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Dawid Malan, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Vince, David Willey, Mark Wood.

New Zealand squad: Kane Williamson (c), Tom Blundell, Trent Boult, Tom Bruce, Colin de Grandhomme, Martin Guptill, Anaru Kitchen, Colin Munro, Seth Rance, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Ben Wheeler. 

First T20I Australia won by seven wickets. Scorecard

Second T20I Australia won by five wickets. Scorecard

Third T20I Australia v England, MCG, February 10. Tickets

Fourth T20I NZ v England, Wellington, February 14

Fifth T20I NZ v Australia, Eden Park, February 16

Sixth T20I NZ v England, Seddon Park, February 18

Final TBC, Eden Park, February 21