Thame Town has re-signed Sri Lankan all-rounder Dinushka Malan for their 2022 Home Counties Premier League campaign.

Impressive numbers

Malan is a genuine seam bowling all-rounder, who has impressed, both at home and abroad, in recent years. After three seasons (and 22 games) of first-class cricket, Malan’s figures read 860 runs at 33.07 and 40 wickets at 26.30, with best performances of 113 and 4-29 with bat and ball respectively.

Abroad, Malan has also excelled in both the Birmingham and Home Counties Premier League in recent seasons – initially with his three stints with Sutton Coldfield (1,635 runs at 29.20 and 116 wickets at 15.09), followed by last summer with Thame Town (140 runs at 17.50 and 23 wickets at 14.87).

In 2017, his maiden stint abroad, he scored 439 runs at 25.82 and took 32 wickets at 18.56. He performed even better in 2018, scoring his maiden league hundred (117) amongst 693 runs at 34.65 alongside 41 wickets at 17.32. Unsurprisingly, the trend continued during his third stint in 2019 hitting 503 runs at 26.47 alongside 43 wickets at 10.37 with best bowling figures of 7-44.

In August 2018, Malan was also the pick of the bowlers in our CricX – “Overseas” v “English” match at Buckingham Town CC. The opening bowler took an impressive 5-wicket haul, finishing with figures of 2-28 (7.1) including the notable wickets of Armaan Randhawa (Austrian National side), Dan Brierley (Cambridge MCCU / Bedfordshire), Sam Handley (Cambridge MCCU), Brandon Jacobs (Australian first-grade batter) and Harry Stephens (Unicorns / Berkshire).

Domestic success

In his homeland, Malan was rewarded with a first-class debut following an outstanding Emerging Players tournament in 2015/16. In 9 matches for SL Navy he notched up 304 runs at 33.78 and took 37 wickets at 15.22 (best bowling of 7-41) to finish second on the bowling charts and take out the “Best All-Rounder” award.

During his debut season (2016/17), the all-rounder excelled for Sri Lanka Navy Sports Club scoring 296 runs at 37 (including a best of 113) and taking 11 wickets at 29.27 (best bowling of 3-52). He was recruited to play for Lankan Cricket Club in 2017/18 and consolidated his status at first-class level with 223 runs at 22.30 and 14 wickets at 34. During the 2018/19 summer, he moved to Kurunegala Youth where he reaffirmed his status in domestic cricket with an impressive 340 runs at 48.57, to include a second first-class century, alongside 12 wickets at 17.

And abroad…

Malan decided to pursue an opportunity in Australia for the 2019/20 season. Playing for Sunbury United in the strong Gisborne & District Cricket Association (McIntyre Cup), he impressed, particularly with the ball taking 16 wickets at 24.19 alongside 276 runs at 23. Due to COVID, Malan remained in Melbourne and played the 2020/21 season with Keilor in the Victorian Turf Cricket Association.

Dinushka set for a UK return

The Sri Lankan all-rounder then returned to the UK in 2021, this time to play the back-half of the season for Thame Town. He excelled, particularly with the ball (23 wickets at 14.87) and the club subsequently decided to re-sign Malan for their 2022 Home Counties Premier League campaign.