Lawrence takes his lead from captain

FORTY players have made their England debut since Joe Root scored 73 on his in Nagpur, but few of them have done so in the style and swagger of Dan Lawrence.

The Essex batsman, 23, scored exactly the same as his captain did in his first innings in Galle then added 21 not out for good measure to see England home on the final morning.

Root was full of praise for the latest addition to England’s middle-order batting stocks, despite the headaches he will undoubtedly cause when Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope and Rory Burns return in India.

Root said: “He was very impressive in the way he handled himself throughout the Test match.

“To play that way on debut and look so at home is testament to his character.”

England’s most experienced player in Galle, Stuart Broad, who made his debut in Sri Lanka nearly 14 years and 144 matches ago, was also taken with the performance of Lawrence, above.

Broad said: “We need a special word for Dan Lawrence.

“Everything I’ve seen about him in this Test makes me feel like he has already played 50 matches, which is a great testament for a 23-year-old.

“He has got a fantastic presence about him. Good players seem to have that about them when they are on the field and he has naturally got that.

“He’s very clear about how he wants to go about his business; he’s uncomplicated. And batting on that pitch, you don’t really see much of that as a young player growing up in England.

“To be able to cope with that and be there at the end on his debut is brilliant. Generally, debuts are a bit of a blur, aren’t they?

“But for him to have looked as calm as he did throughout this Test match is a great positive.”