SM
Watford vs. Oxford Utd: 7 hrs 29 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews

England

Sir Alastair Cook backs Dan Lawrence to star for England

:Headline: Sir Alastair Cook backs Dan Lawrence to star for England: ID:426619: from db_amp
A reserve England batsman over the summer, Dan Lawrence has been tipped to make his international bow in the Test tour of Sri Lanka.

Sir Alastair Cook is convinced Dan Lawrence will flourish with England, insisting his Essex team-mate’s “slightly unusual” batting technique is no barrier to success at the top level.

A reserve England batsman over the summer, Lawrence has been tipped to make his international bow in the Test tour of Sri Lanka, with opener Rory Burns and middle-order duo Ben Stokes and Ollie Pope all absent for varying reasons.

Part of the Essex sides that have won three first-class trophies in the last four seasons, Lawrence has a tendency to favour the leg side but has diligently ironed out some trigger movements to improve his options at the crease.

Cook, whose national record 12,472 Test runs came despite an unorthodox approach to batting, hailed the 23-year-old’s self-belief and resolve but warned that next month’s trip to Sri Lanka will present a tough challenge.

The former England captain told the PA news agency: “He’s had a couple of really good seasons at Essex in championship-winning sides with the pitches he’s playing on, he’s learned to score runs in tough conditions.

“He’s a very, very competitive bloke who really knows his game very well. He’s got a slightly unusual technique and it will be interesting to see how he handles people talking about it, but he’s got an old head on young shoulders.

“Clearly it is a bit different playing for England than it is with the extra scrutiny and the pressure.

Lawrence flourished with the bat in Australia for the England Lions last winter (Jason O’Brien/PA)

“In Sri Lanka, it will be humid, fielders around the bat making a bit of noise on turning wickets but that’s the beauty of Test cricket, you’re thrown into tough situations and it’s how you handle it.

“I have no doubt in my mind he will be successful.

“Whether he does it straight away you just don’t know, you need a little bit of luck early on just to get going. But he has all the self-belief that you need and I expect good things.”

Lawrence, who has been fined 10,000 Australian dollars (£5,640) for breaching coronavirus protocols at the Big Bash League over the weekend, averaged 98.6 across all formats during England Lions’ tour of Australia last winter.

Sir Alastair Cook was speaking to support a National Lottery initiative which will see sporting venues around the country changing their names for a day to honour grassroots sport community workers and volunteers who have gone above and beyond during the coronavirus pandemic (Matt Alexander/PA)

The highlight was at Melbourne with a spectacular 125 in an unofficial Test win over a strong Australia A side, leading many observers to speculate whether the youngster could be in contention to feature in the 2021/22 Ashes.

Cook – speaking to promote a National Lottery initiative in which sporting venues across England and Wales changed their names on Tuesday to honour those who have gone above and beyond during the coronavirus pandemic – feels Joe Root’s side have every reason to feel reasonably optimistic with less than 12 months to go before the series.

While the batting unit has made 400 or more in five of their most 18 Test recent innings, England trio Mark Wood, Jofra Archer and Olly Stone have the express pace that could make a difference on unresponsive Australian wickets.

Cook added: “England look like they’ve got a squad which looks like it is powerful enough to go and cause Australia some problems.

“They’ve got options with the ball; two or three guys who can bowl 90mph, I think you need to have the option of that at certain times when the wicket gets flat with the Kookaburra ball.

The Kia Oval was renamed The Kia Shahidul Alam Ratan Oval on Tuesday (John Nguyen/PA)

“Then you’ve got a batting line-up who have started to score bigger runs over the last 12-18 months. They are the things you need in Australia.

“You need to go massive in your first innings to set up the game and you need a bit of power in your bowling to be able to change tactics. Maybe for the first time in a couple of tours down there, England have got those options.

“You just don’t know but I think England are looking OK.”

As part of the National Lottery scheme, the Kia Oval bore the name of Shahidul Alam Ratan in honour of the leader of Capital Kids Cricket, a London-based charity which uses the sport to change the lives of disadvantaged children.

Cook added: “He’s an incredible bloke to put in all that effort for the kids.”

:: Sir Alastair Cook was speaking as part of a campaign celebrating volunteers and workers around the UK who have gone above during the pandemic using National Lottery funding. National Lottery players raise around £30m a week which goes to supporting good causes, to find out more please visit www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk.

amp_article__426619 : Database Data restored...  : 
last updated article - 2020-12-15 15:52:03:
html db last update - 2020-12-15 15:52:03 :

ex - 7200 : read : read cache amp html

Click here for more stories about Dan Lawrence

Click here for more stories about England

Share this article now:
Recommended Next on SM
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool108111961325
2Manchester CityMan City1072121111023
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest10541147719
4Chelsea105322012818
5Arsenal105321711618
6Aston Villa105321715218
7Tottenham HotspurSpurs1051422111116
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton104421714316
9Fulham104331413115
10Bournemouth104331312115
11Newcastle UnitedNewcastle104331010015
12Brentford104151920-113
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd10334912-312
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham103251319-611
15Leicester CityLeicester102441418-410
16Everton102351017-79
17Crystal Palace10145813-57
18Ipswich TownIpswich100551021-115
19Southampton10118719-124
20Wolverhampton WanderersWolves100371427-133
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.



. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .