Dawid Malan warns England are back in the Ashes fight as century moves him to brink of tears

Dawid Malan believes England are alive in the Ashes again thanks to the maiden Test century that nearly left him in tears.

Malan made 110 not out as the tourists enjoyed their best batting day of the series, closing on 305 for four, with Jonny Bairstow unbeaten on 75.

Since England lost the Second Test at Adelaide to go 2-0 down in the series, they have had to fend off questions about their off-field antics, after Lions batsman Ben Duckett poured beer over Jimmy Anderson in a Perth bar.

Malan, whose family were present at the ground, admitted the players had been foolish but hopes his innings on Thursday gives them a small chance of keeping the Ashes and ensuring the series is remembered for cricketing reasons.

“When I reached my hundred I was so emotional that I almost started crying,” he said. “The number of sacrifices my parents made to get me here made it so nice to do it in front of them, and repay them for all the time they’ve given me.

“It always means more to score a hundred when your back is against the wall and the team’s back is against the wall. To do this in an Ashes series when we’re 2-0 down, and give ourselves a foot in the door in this game, has been great.

“We know we have been silly in certain instances but we also know that some situations have been blown up, and in a normal tour you probably wouldn’t hear about them.

“We know we have to be smarter with the way we do things. We have done silly things at silly times which have grabbed the headlines but we have spoken about it within the team.

“A lot of the boys do understand that we are doing silly things. We know it’s not the end of the world but we have to be smarter.”