Leader Lawrence plotting Test return

London Spirit’s new skipper was happily surprised at England recall... now, he tells Malik Ouzia, he wants to cement his place in the team

- Malik Ouzia

DAN LAWRENCE was enjoying some well-earned time off during a busy winter when news of his Test recall arrived.

“I was on holiday in Cape Town with my missus over Christmas,” he explains. “I got a call from Baz [McCullum] and he said, ‘ You’re coming to New Zealand’. It was a great day and a little bit of a surprise, but a very welcome surprise.”

Lawrence had not been involved under the new England regime, led by head coach McCullum and skipper Ben Stokes, last featuring a year ago on the West Indies tour that marked the end of Joe Root’s captaincy.

There, he had come close to a first Test hundred during what, on a personal level, was an encouraging series. But a lack of runs early in the county season, some untimely hamstring trouble and the change in leadership looked to have seen the Essex batter slip off the radar.

“I was disappointed not to be involved in the summer,” he says. “But I could understand which way they went and it’s fine.

“I always believed there was going to be an opportunity at some stage. Cricket has a way of giving you an opportunity when you don’t expect it sometimes.”