Dan Lawrence has dealt with questions about his new role as England’s final Test opener in the style he hopes to face Sri Lanka’s bowlers in Manchester: with indifference and a touch of arrogance.
Bazball’s England side have made a few attempts since Brendon McCullum joined Ben Stokes more than two years ago. By their standards, perhaps, the rise of Lawrence (who has spent most of his first-class career at No. 4) barely registers on the betting meter.
Yet the decision to partner him at the top of the order with friend and golfing partner Ben Duckett as Zak Crawley recovers from a broken finger is doubly bold: Lawrence is making his international comeback, having not played a Test since England’s tour of the Caribbean in early 2022, the final series of the Joe Root era.
Not everyone is convinced that a specialist role should be filled by a player who has opened in just seven of his 203 first-class innings, with former England captain Michael Vaughan arguing the decision is “not the right one”.
But McCullum and Stokes (whose hamstring injury means he will watch this series from the sidelines as Ollie Pope takes charge) are used to having their sanity questioned and, in Lawrence, they have gone for a cricketer with similar self-assurance.
Dan Lawrence is set to open for England against Sri Lanka during the upcoming Test series.
Regular opener Zak Crawley will miss the series after breaking a finger against the West Indies.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan suggested Lawrence was not cut out to open for England
Did Vaughan’s comments bother him? “I was asked to lead off and I’m definitely going to say yes,” he said. “So obviously people will have their opinions, but I’m proud to have the opportunity.”
Lawrence was probably unlucky to be out for just two games after making 91 and 41 off 39 balls against the West Indies in Bridgetown two-and-a-half years ago, a tour on which his selfless approach left an impression on Stokes.
But Pope returned to the team for the first Test under McCullum, against New Zealand, and when Jonny Bairstow broke his leg a couple of months later, the selectors turned to Harry Brook.
Lawrence left Essex for Surrey at the end of the 2023 season in a bid to revive his England hopes but has been unable to shake the feeling of dissatisfaction.
“I’ve been on the sidelines for a couple of years now, which has been frustrating at times,” he said. “But my approach to it is to be quite aggressive, and it’s the style of cricketer that Baz and Stokes generally go for, so I think I fit the mould.
‘I’ve said before that if I get the chance to play for England again, I’d be No. 11. So I was waiting for an opportunity and wherever it was, I was going to tear their hands off for it.
“I think my style will suit opening the batting. It would be nice, after not playing for England for a while, to just put the pads on and go straight in, rather than thinking and waiting.”
The 27-year-old batsman was in high spirits as he trained with Brendan McCullum’s team.
Dan Lawrence has now played in 11 Tests for England, most recently in March 2022.
As the players and coaching staff gathered for a meeting on the outfield at Old Trafford in a rainy Manchester yesterday lunchtime, that was exactly the message McCullum conveyed: Lawrence has been part of the Bazball revolution in spirit, if not in person, and it doesn’t matter where he bats. We’ve picked you, McCullum told him, because we like your style.
It is true that in his 11 Tests so far Lawrence has been versatile, occupying every position from three to seven, even if he has not always displayed the talent that has brought him 17 first-class hundreds and an average this season of 53 for the defending county champions.
But a Test average of 29, with more ducks (five) than half-centuries (four), leaves room for improvement.
“I showed glimpses of what I can do,” he said of his first foray into Test cricket. “I was quite inconsistent, but that was because I was quite young. I wasn’t completely confident in my game at the time. I’m treating this as a fresh start.”
Lawrence believes he fits into England coach Brendon McCullum’s style of cricket (above).
Lawrence, now 27, believes he has improved his game and says he controls his emotions “a lot better”. He is open about his style: as he prefers to bowl with his legs, he has no problem being patient outside the off-stump and waiting for bowlers to aim straighter. When they do, he can be a killer.
Then there are his odd off-breaks, bowled left-footed but good enough to fetch him 35 first-class wickets, and useful for a few overs if Shoaib Bashir needs a breather.
“When I signed for Surrey I thought my route into the England team was to bat lower down the order and bowl with a bit of spin because the top six were so established. So that’s something I’ve worked really hard on.
“The action is a bit unique. It seems completely normal to me, but when I watch it again, it can be quite harsh!”
On paper, England’s longer-than-usual batting tail (Chris Woakes has not batted as high as No 7 in Test cricket for four years) increases the pressure on Lawrence to mark his return with a significant innings, but he appears unfazed by the prospect.
“I’m just going to enjoy these weeks, hopefully score some runs and get my name on the list for future selections,” he said. Whatever happens, it won’t be boring.