England’s latest Test captain Dan Lawrence is set to play at Old Trafford on Wednesday, more than two years after playing the last of his 11 Tests. Barry Hyam has followed him since his first appearance on the age group track in Essex as an under-11. My cricket-obsessed son lives in a ground floor apartment and likes to write before knocking. It wasn’t until he was a little older that Lawrence began to stand out. “When you’re young, you can see the talent and skill of a kicker, but you don’t know right away who that kicker is going to play,” Hyam says.
“When you look at the players’ dedication and commitment, one of the biggest things that Dan had when he started playing second-team and first-team cricket was belief in his own abilities. “Ultimately, that belief comes from deep within, but we like to believe that the environment we create – the game – we strive to encourage our young players. “He was a very nice boy, but he was very confident. “I don’t want to sound arrogant, but I think I have the ability to adapt to any situation,” he said.
That enviable confidence was evident when 17-year-old Lawrence scored 100 in his second Division One match and scored 161 against Surrey, where he currently plays, becoming the third youngest player to marked a championship century. It happened again in the Championship in June when he smashed Shoaib Bashir for five consecutive sixes. He was pushed out of his place in the most recent assignment against Sri Lanka due to a finger injury to Jack Crowley and England’s desire to introduce the baseball-minded youngster into the starting XI. “I haven’t done that in a while,” he says. “But I’m really excited to hit the road and present the show with Ducky [Ben Duckett].”
Higham, now Essex’s academy director and second-team assistant coach, overshadowed Lawrence’s career for a time. He became head coach of the emerging players program that Lawrence joined at under-14 level and took charge of the second team once Lawrence had established himself there. He has no doubt that Lawrence will be able to adapt to his new role. And it won’t be the first time.
“In the early stages of his second-order career, I encouraged him to bat as often as possible because it gave him the opportunity to play against good bowlers and against the new ball,” says Hyam. “When he started playing for Essex, Alastair Cook and Nick Brown were there but he never got the chance. “He’s become a real force in the middle order and we’ve built around him, but I’m confident he’ll be able to adapt again. He does it his way. After all, there were times in his career when he hit three or four, he had to go in and get a new ball.”There were live boos from Essex fans as Lawrence left Chelmsford to move to The Oval at the end of 2023, but he didn’t leave them without one last fireworks display. Against Lancashire at Blackpool, the crowd dispersed for safety.
This move was successful for both parties. Essex are happy with their replacement Jordan Cox and Lawrence bolsters an already star-studded Surrey pack with the freedom to crack eggs, averaging over 50 wickets and taking 15 Championship wickets. . It’s a behavior that sometimes makes Lawrence cringe. “For me, it’s normal,” he says. “Looking back, sometimes it can be really hard to watch, but what I get is usually pretty good and that’s what I focus on.”Hyam said: “He has always considered himself a good bowler. Although he has been very erratic in his actions, he has added consistency to his bowling in recent years.”
“Percussion instruments were also developed. He had to adjust his technique quite a bit after being exposed to international cricket. “We benefit from less traffic, being quieter and better balanced.”Hyam is keeping a close eye on events at Old Trafford. “As coaches, we spend a lot of time with the kids coming through the system and we also monitor their development closely. Anyone who knows Dan knows he comes from a very good place. “He is a very thoughtful and considerate young man, also a talented child who had to wait patiently at the door of new opportunities.
