DAWID Malan insisted he must build on his impressive debut after his half-century helped England secure a NatWest International Twenty20 Series victory over South Africa.

Middlesex left-hander Malan made 78 from 44 balls - the highest score by an England player on T20 debut - as the hosts posted 181 for eight on their way to a 19-run win at the SSE Swalec Stadium in Cardiff.

The success, which was secured without rested captain Eoin Morgan, wrapped up a 2-1 series win over the Proteas.

England’s next T20 match comes in mid-September and Malan knows he must continue his form in county cricket.

“I don’t think playing one game, you can’t think you’ve made it,” he told Sky Sports 2. “You’ve got to constantly put scores on the board.

“Hopefully they (England) rest a lot of other players for the next game again and I can get another shout.”

Malan, who turns 30 in just over two months, admitted he thought his chance of playing international cricket may have gone.

“I didn’t think it would ever come but it was nice to get an opportunity and to go and show what I can do,” he added.

“The first few balls I wasn’t (composed).

“When the nerves left the body it was a lot easier. To play for your country’s a fantastic experience and I think you’re nervous either way.”

In the absence of Morgan, England were captained by Jos Buttler.

The stand-in skipper praised the impact of his side’s inexperienced international players, including man-of-the-match Malan.

“I think if you look around all the best teams in the world, there’s always very good players missing out with injuries or resting guys,” Buttler said.

“Dawid Malan just did what he’s being doing outside of the team. There is pressure on you when you come in and you feel like you need to perform to show your case so that’s a fantastic show of character for those guys.”

South Africa skipper AB de Villiers lamented the tourists’ fielding and admitted England deserved their series win.

Asked if it was a fair result, he said: “I think so, tough question, but it is probably true that they played the better cricket throughout the series and credit to Morgs (Morgan) and, today, Jos for leading the team well.

“In the field we gave away probably about 20 runs and we lost by 19 so I think we slipped up a little bit with a couple of mistakes in the field. Not just the catching, but just generally fumbling a couple of balls, that probably cost us.”

It was a bitter-sweet day for Barrow’s Lancashire star Liam Livingstone who - hoping to build on the 16 he made on his England debut at Taunton on Friday - departed clean bowled first ball after trying to scoop Dane Paterson over fine leg on one knee.