The Japan Times - England hero Malan driven by 'hunger' at Cricket World Cup

The opening batsman smashed 140 runs off 107 balls as the defending champions racked up 364-9 in their 50 overs in Dharamsala.

Paceman Reece Topley did the bulk of the damage in the Bangladesh innings, taking 4-43 as England coasted to a 137-run win.

It was a welcome return to form for the defending champions, who were hammered by nine wickets by New Zealand in their opening game of the tournament.

Malan's place in the final World Cup squad was thought to be uncertain in the weeks leading up to the event, even though he was named in the provisional group in August.

But he made sure of a spot on the plane with a stellar performance in an ODI series against New Zealand last month, ousting Jason Roy from his opening spot.

Malan, who won the player of the match award on Tuesday, said the secret to his success was a desperate desire to stay in the side.

- 'Hungry to win' -

"Just hungry, hungry to play and to do well, hungry to score runs and win games of cricket," said the 36-year-old.

"I've wanted to be part of this team for so long, it's been impossible to break into with the players that have been so good.

"So, to get your opportunity and try and take it and, you know, enjoy it as long as it lasts, you know, is all that I try and do."

Malan, who was not part of England's World Cup-winning squad in 2019, said he felt desperate to miss out on last year's T20 World Cup final, in which they beat Pakistan, after suffering an injury earlier in the tournament.

"To miss out on that World Cup last year was, pretty much one of the worst things ever, on that final, but, great to win it," he said.

"But hopefully this one I can stay fit and we can play some good cricket and get us towards that business end."

The left-hander was asked whether he felt he was always having to prove people wrong despite his stellar record -- he averages more than 63 in ODI cricket and over 36 in Twenty20 cricket.

"I feel like every series I'm under pressure so you know for me to keep silencing people is all I can do," he said.

"You know, if I can score as many runs as I can and help contribute to wins, then hopefully, eventually people's opinions might change."

The batsman, who admitted England were outplayed by New Zealand in their first match in India, said one of their strengths was an ability to recover from adversity.

"This team has always bounced back and been more and more aggressive when we're under pressure," he said.

"It's one of the traits that has been so successful for the team and the challenge to us was to keep being aggressive, even though we were under pressure. Thankfully, we did that with the bat and the ball tonight."

Y.Watanabe--JT