Defiant Lawrence gives Essex belief
Essex (159 & 316-6) drew with Lancashire (319 & 317-3dec)
At the crease he was not only phlegmatic but busy. Lancashire had made the mistake of batting too long and too slowly in their second innings, so that Essex had not a sniff of a chance of chasing down 478, which allowed Lawrence to go at his own sweet pace. He did so in two century stands, heroically, as if he had been Lawrence of Arabia, not Chingford.
After working on his hip in the gym in the morning, Alastair Cook could have been forgiven for seeing something of himself in Lawrence, though he is right-handed. Tall as well as stoical, Lawrence was unruffled when hit on the shoulder by James Anderson, who was acting captain all day while Steven Croft nursed his right thumb. Like Cook, Lawrence never missed out on anything leg side, and was particularly partial to midwicket; and, like Cook, Lawrence was not drawn forwards to cover-drive often enough.
“I’ve been guilty a couple of times of playing some stupid shots and getting out in some very silly ways, so I’m trying to minimise that this season,” Lawrence said after his fifth first-class hundred. “It wasn’t hard to put my usual shots away because I knew I had to bat all day and runs were never going to be an issue. It was more a mental battle. I never play an innings like that.” He has now. Anderson, never one to gush, said of Lawrence: “He played exactly as you should do on that pitch – he played straight. He’s clearly got a good temperament [but] as a 19-year-old he’s got a long way to go.” Anderson’s schedule is to miss Lancashire’s next game against Surrey then return for Somerset at Old Trafford. “I was a bit rusty in parts but the speed felt good so I’m happy,” Anderson said. The disappointment was that he could not get the ball to out-swing in Essex’s second innings. Asked if he enjoyed the captaincy, Anderson said: “No, not really. If we’d have won the game I’d have said yes.
“Of course, I love doing it but it’s difficult when you’re trying to bowl a side out on a flat wicket. You’re always thinking if you can do something different. So I was asking for advice all the time from the senior players. But I’m not sure I’m cut out for it because I feel knackered now bowling and trying to captain as well – it’s pretty tough.”
Lancashire only had themselves to blame for missing out on 16 points after they made the fundamental mistake of letting the game meander and, in consequence, Essex off the hook.
Lancashire allowed their second innings to chug along at 3.3 per over in building on a lead of 160. They should have told Alex Davies to hit out or get out after reaching his maiden century, promoted Jordan Clark to hit, and not worry about Dane Vilas trying to accumulate – only five fours in his 92 – a hundred on his Lancashire debut.