Surrey give Lawrence platform to become England all-rounder
CRICKET NEWS CORRESPONDENT
Dan Lawrence hopes to use his quirky off-spin to force his way into the England Test team, and has been backed to become a “genuine all-rounder” by his coach at champions Surrey, Gareth Batty.
Lawrence is settling into life south of the Thames after his closeseason switch from his boyhood club Essex. The 26-year-old has been England’s reserve batsman across their past 10 Tests, taking in their two biggest series against Australia and India, and hopes that more opportunity with the ball in a Surrey side seeking a third successive championship title will help force the selectors’ hand.
He will bat No4 when Surrey open their title defence at Old Trafford a week today and, unless the pitch looks likely to take masses of spin – improbable in early April, even if Lancashire have Nathan Lyon in their side – Lawrence will fill the role of Will Jacks: as the spinner supplementing a relentless five-man pace attack.
Jacks is at the Indian Premier League, but Surrey will still be able to field a top six with international experience. Ollie Pope and Ben
Foakes are Test incumbents, while Jamie Smith made his ODI debut last year and, like Lawrence, will be competing for a spot in Ben Stokes’s team this summer.
“Massively,” said Lawrence, when asked if he wants to bowl more at Surrey. “That was part of the reason I made the move. Essex have got the best spinner in the country in Simon Harmer and my opportunities didn’t really come because he’d bowl the overs and take so many wickets that I never got the chance. I think I’ll get a bit more opportunity here in the redball and especially white-ball.
“If you’re taking a few wickets as well as scoring runs, your chances increase of playing for England. If a slot came up in the lower order they would know I can bowl a bit of off-spin as well.”
Lawrence has an unusual action and only 20 first-class wickets (three of them in Tests) in 118 firstclass matches but Batty, a former England spinner, believes he could be moulded into a more regular bowler.
“He’s already a wonderful player,” he said. “We’re not sitting here trying to take any credit for the work that’s been done up until now. It’s our job to help him evolve as a player, and try to be better. The sky is the limit for him. “I think he could be a genuine all-rounder. There is enough with his bowling that we can evolve it beautifully. We’ve already seen that England are open to looking differently at certain things. We’re only trying to give every player the best opportunity to be playing at the highest level.”
Of Lawrence’s role in the Surrey team, Batty said: “Will Jacks has a Test five-for, so there’s a bit of method there. Can Dan do the same thing? Absolutely. We try to pick a team that has length in the batting but the ability to take 20 wickets against any given team. I think Dan could be a very fine allrounder, given more opportunity. I hope we can provide that. The intention is we want to involve our spin department to play a bigger part.”