The England team management decided to start Dan Lawrence alongside Ben Duckett in the three-match series against Sri Lanka instead of Zak Crawley. After his final Test match in 2022, Lawrence has performed admirably for Surrey in the middle order. However, it’s intriguing to note that England gave him the opening role against Sri Lanka. With 120 runs in six games over the series, he was, nevertheless, largely unremarkable.
Lawrence is once again expected to lose his spot in the national team, as Crawley is expected to make his injury return for the Pakistan series. Former cricket player Nasser Hussain commented after seeing his match against Sri Lanka that the player needs to improve at leaving balls outside off-stump. Hussain also stated that Lawrence needs to get answers right away because the cricket player isn’t yet prepared to start a Test match.
“Dan Lawrence has to get in shape, no matter what position he plays, since they can still bowl outside off-stump even in the middle order.
He needs to decide if he wants to stick with his current style of play or learn to be more patient. Hussain stated in his Daily Mail column that “he needs to find his answer, whether it be with his county Surrey or with the England coaches.”
“He doesn’t appear to be a Test match opener at this time, which goes without saying. While some will not, Sri Lanka has bowled with the new ball on both sides of the wicket. Brendon McCullum and Rob Key talk about selecting players with high ceilings, and he’s still a guy you would recognise as having the ability to put up big innings. Just not against the new Dukes ball, and not in that situation,” he continued.
Also Read: ENG vs SL: Mark Butcher criticises the hosts’ lax batting strategy In the Oval Test
In the three Test matches of the series, England is ahead 2-0. But their batting order collapsed in the third Test, giving Sri Lanka a fantastic chance to win the Oval Test. After Day 3, they are 94/1 and require 125 runs to win the match.
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