Surrey batter’s unorthodox talent appears to have been stymied by move up the order
Vithushan Ehantharajah06-Sep-2024Both Dan Lawrence and Ben Duckett walked off before their respective catches had been taken.A swift look to the ball sailing harmlessly in the air towards the cordon. Eye rolls so exaggerated you could almost hear the optic nerve strain through the stump mics, before sharp turns and sorry marches back to the Pavilion. Synchronised annoyance, albeit hours apart.The reactions from a short-changed crowd at the Kia Oval could not have been more different. Raucous cheers for Duckett, who rewarded their patience with an 86 that felt like an attempt to speed run a Test century. Soul-cringing gasps and groans for Lawrence, tangled in his own limbs attempting to work to square leg, followed by sympathetic applause that made his torturous 5 off 21 feel a little worse.It is hard not to empathise with Lawrence’s struggles over the last two weeks. A promising pair of thirties in the first Test have made way for three single-figure scores, with enough across 55 balls to pass judgement on his worth in an unfamiliar role.Related
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The last England opener to go five or more innings without passing 50 once was the now-discarded Alex Lees against South Africa in 2022. By contrast, Duckett has maintained his streak of fifties in every Bazball series he has played.Comparing the two, however, is foolish. Because one is the most consistent Test opener in the world now, and the other isn’t an opener outright. So, when they were both greeted by low, dank skies and floodlights on full beam at 11am, it was no surprise the bloke who has made an international career out of this caper was far better equipped to deal with a new ball and lavish movement than the one doing this as a favour in Zak Crawley’s absence.Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes have talked up Lawrence’s capacity as a reserve opener before finally pulling the cord for this series. All that while knowing he has never really been one professionally, with just five of 177 first-class innings in the top two. The reason he is at this level is through a body of work as a dynamo in the engine room of a batting line-up.Like any moonlighter out of their comfort zone, there have been times when it looks like Lawrence has been trying to do an impression of an opener. Like, for instance, taking 11 balls to get off the mark, with a scampered two tucked into midwicket with all the conviction of a festival bartender pouring a Guinness.Meanwhile, at the other end, Duckett was in his element. After a quiet start, his back-to-back charge-and-slaps to close out Milan Rathnayake’s first over took the score to 45, which was what the opening stand would finish on. Duckett had 36 of them – off 35 deliveries, no less.”There is no surprise, this is how Ben Duckett plays Test cricket,” mused Sri Lanka bowling coach Aaqib Javed. And that’s, basically, it. Duckett goes out and does right by himself. Lawrence would have been better served doing an impression of his partner.Even in a world where openers are encouraged to scoop fast bowlers – which Duckett did for the first time in Tests on Friday, for six, four and his dismissal – no amount of vibes can cover for the differences between top- and middle-order living.Lawrence has been reared on the latter for the past nine years at Essex and Surrey; at his best when an innings is already in motion, capable of slowing it down but, more often than not, speeding things up. But up top, particularly in the first innings of a Test match, there is nothing to groove with. And while that is no problem for Duckett, armed with the game and personality to make mischief in an empty room, Lawrence needs a rhythm.The irony here is that Lawrence’s natural game – which we haven’t seen this summer – is uniquely homespun but routinely encouraged. The age-group set-up at Chelmsford, preachers of “it’s not how, it’s how many”, facilitated the wristy, jaw-dropping shots that are Lawrence’s staple. Even through the England pathway, changes in how talent was nurtured accelerated his maturity.In 2014, after consultations with the Football Association, the ECB re-imagined how best to work with young teenagers. Among recommendations such as creating a more fluid development programme were some holistic shifts that bear similarities to what Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes have instilled in the Test side. Reduced contact time with coaches, giving players more ownership so they can grow with their games as they learn more about themselves.Lawrence thrived in that environment, and carried his brand of renegade unorthodoxy from the U19s the following year through to his first forays into the Test side in 2021. He left the 2022 tour of the Caribbean having made a strong impression on important minds. “It’s a joy to bat with him,” Root said after a 164-run partnership which featured Lawrence’s career-best score of 91. Stokes, too, was also impressed by a young man doing this his own way.And yet, Lawrence has never featured in an Stokes-led England. Might he ever?Perhaps that is dramatic. But at the minute, those wrists look handcuffed, the rebel within him suppressed and the talent lost in a vocational pursuit that has never been his calling. And given how ruthless England have been this summer – Ben Foakes, Jonny Bairstow and Jack Leach dropped at the start, Matthew Potts during – would it be a surprise if Jordan Cox, newer, fresher to the set-up and – crucially – unburdened, usurped Lawrence as the spare batter?It is important to state Lawrence has not been treated harshly. These three Test caps are not a reward, but certainly “his turn” after 18 months around the squad as the alternate. He has always said he would bat anywhere for England – “even No.11” – and it just so happens his opportunity has arisen at the other end.But the harsh call could still yet come. And as he sat next on the balcony in front of the home dressing late on Friday, feet up, sandwiched by McCullum and Duckett, it was hard not to wonder how this plays out if the second innings brings another failure.The sense is Lawrence won’t be judged on his output this series because he is in an unfamiliar position. The fear, however, is this unfamiliarity seems to be robbing him of the qualities that made him an attractive proposition in the first place.