Zak Crawley is expected to be ruled out of all of England’s Test series against Sri Lanka, and could face a race to be fit for the tour to Pakistan after an operation on a broken finger.
Crawley sustained the injury while dropping a catch in England’s Test win over West Indies at Edgbaston last week. The opener was promptly ruled out of the entirety of the Hundred, and now faces missing the three Tests against Sri Lanka which begin on Aug 21.
In the absence of Crawley, Dan Lawrence is in line to make his first Test appearance since March 2022. While Lawrence is a middle-order player in the County Championship, he is now likely to win a Test chance as an opener.
With his expansive strokeplay, Lawrence appears to be a natural fit for the approach under captain Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum. The emergence of Harry Brook and the settled nature of England’s top six in recent years have kept Lawrence on the sidelines. The series against Sri Lanka will give an opportunity to press his case in the England set-up.
Lancashire’s Keaton Jennings, who won the last of his 17 Test caps in 2019, is an option were England to decide to pick a specialist opener. But Lawrence is considered in prime position at this stage. His age – at 27, he is five years younger than Jennings – is one major advantage. Under Stokes and McCullum, England have focused far more on a player’s talent and potential than their county roles. In the very first Test of the regime, Ollie Pope was picked at number three, a position that he had never filled in the County Championship.
Lawrence’s style would make him close to a like-for-like replacement for Crawley, who has played every Test since Stokes became captain. Crawley’s average under Stokes, 35.56, has been trending upwards. His strike rate opening under Stokes, 75, has set the tone for England’s approach, as encapsulated by driving Pat Cummins for four from the first ball of last year’s Ashes series.
After making the move from Essex over the winter, Lawrence has been in fine form for Surrey. He averages 53.09 in this season’s championship, hitting 175 against Worcestershire in June. Lawrence has also developed his off-spin, which was a major factor in his move. He has taken 15 wickets at 36.66 this championship season.
Lawrence’s off-spin could be an important factor in his favour when England select their side for the three-Test series in Pakistan, which begins on Oct 7. When England last toured Pakistan, in 2022, Will Jacks played a crucial role with his auxiliary off-spin.
Crawley now faces a race to be fit for that series. Broken fingers typically take six-eight weeks to heal. While the series in Pakistan begins in nine weeks, any delays in Crawley’s recovery will put his fitness to begin the series in doubt.
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