Dan Lawrence says Surrey move will give him more England chances
Dan Lawrence insists leaving Essex to join Surrey will give him the best chance of playing for England, as he opens up on his love of captaincy and being a ‘massive fan’ of the Hundred
- Dan Lawrence has chosen to leave Essex at the end of the season to join Surrey
- He believes this will give him the best chance to break into the England team
- Lawrence is loving his captaincy role at London Spirit in the Hundred this year
Dan Lawrence spent a long time waiting this season for his chance to impress on the big stage but when it came he took full advantage.
Lawrence was England’s perennial reserve during the Ashes series for the ages and then saw rain badly hit the early stages of his first Hundred campaign as London Spirit captain.
But when Lawrence finally stepped out at Lord’s on Saturday he showed why England captain Ben Stokes rates him so highly and why Surrey felt compelled to prise him away from Essex by smashing 93 off 49 balls in the defeat of Trent Rockets.
It was the latest glimpse, followed up on Tuesday with three more sixes in the Spirit’s narrow defeat by Oval Invincibles, of the rare ability of a batsman born to play in the modern England way who hopes to finally fulfil his potential in his first captaincy role – and then at his new home of the Oval in the longer game where he has gained England recognition.
‘I’m a massive fan of the Hundred as long as it doesn’t rain every day!’ Lawrence told Mail Sport. ‘We had a bit of a stinker with the weather at first but now we’ve got out there we want to put a run together to get in the mix to win the competition.
Dan Lawrence has shown how destructive he can be with the bat in the Hundred this summer
Lawrence is the captain of London Spirit, and is loving his new leadership role
Lawrence (left) is hoping to lead London Spirit all the way in the Hundred, and admits he’s a ‘massive fan’ of the competition
‘The standard is incredibly high and a lot better than the T20 Blast. All the best domestic players are involved and if you add overseas it’s going to equal a very good product. And I’m loving being London Spirit captain and working with Trevor Bayliss.’
Lawrence’s leadership style will be familiar to anyone who has followed England over the last few years because he cites Stokes and Eoin Morgan, who he played under at Spirit in the first two years of the Hundred, as his captaincy role models.
‘Captaincy is always something I’ve wanted to do and I’ve been lucky enough to have been around a couple of the very best,’ he says. ‘And Trev is a relaxed and chilled coach.
‘We’re trying to be positive and attacking. We’re just trying to reinforce the idea to the lads that we’re there to take wickets and entertain with the bat. Then whatever way they want to do it they’re old enough and ugly enough to work it out for themselves.
‘It can be challenging and the Hundred is really fast paced and needs some quick decision making. It’s very different to a T20 but it’s great fun and I’m really enjoying it.’
Lawrence, 26, did not enjoy quite as much the dilemma he faced when he was involved in the biggest move of the domestic season, leaving the Essex club he grew up with next year to join the county power-house of Surrey.
‘Essex are my home club and I’ll always hold them dear to my heart,’ said Lawrence, talking about the switch for the first time. ‘I just felt it was time for a fresh challenge.
Lawrence has decided to join Surrey next season, and believes it will help him play more for England
Lawrence (centre) admits it was a tough decision to leave Essex, but he is ready for a fresh challenge
‘Surrey approached me and said a few things that really rung true to me. I had to think about what will give me the best chance of playing for England and for me that would be at Surrey. It has absolutely nothing to do with Essex and nothing to do with money.
‘The Essex players are my best mates and I love the club. It’s just this is the right time to move and the environment at the Oval suits what I’m trying to do with my career.
‘We had lots of conversations and I was toing and froing but ultimately if I took emotion out of the decision it was fairly simple. If I didn’t do it I might have looked back and regretted it. It was really tough but that’s how I saw it and I decided to take the plunge.’
It is not without irony that once Lawrence finishes the Hundred later this month he will return to Essex for the final stages of what has become a two-horse race for the County Championship title against none other than his new side of Surrey.
‘It’s really exciting actually,’ said Lawrence. ‘It would be awesome for my last year at Essex to end with a Championship win. We’re just going to try to do our best to win the next three games and see where it takes us. We’re fully aware Surrey are a brilliant team but we’re going to give it a red hot crack.
‘It would be amazing and an awesome way to end what’s been an incredible journey with Essex. Then I’ll think about what comes next.’
And next for Lawrence internationally, he hopes, will be England’s tour of India in January when he will try to regain his place only lost when he suffered a hamstring injury while in possession at the beginning of the Stokes and Brendon McCullum era.
Lawrence hopes his explosive batting can help him break into England’s Test team
‘I’m always desperate to play so the Ashes were frustrating on one hand being around a lot and not getting the chance to actually get out there,’ he added.
‘But the boys have earned their spots and I’m just waiting for my nod whenever it comes. It’s great to be around a group that’s playing such a free and fun brand of cricket.
‘It’s how we all think cricket should be played. All people think about is trying to entertain, take wickets and score runs and that’s as simple as it gets. The results take care of themselves if everyone trusts that.
‘I’ve always wanted to be aggressive and take the game on and it definitely fits the mantra that I believe in. So hopefully I’ll get the nod at some stage and do well.’
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