101 Off 64: Discarded England Test All-Rounder Follows First-Innings Double-Ton With Rapid Final-Day Century

Batting on day four of the fixture, which has faced several interruptions from rain, Lawrence peeled off 101 off 64 balls, as Surrey looked to put a fourth-innings chase out of Hampshire’s reach. Lawrence whacked five sixes in his innings, including a massive hit over square leg off James Fuller, moving wide of the crease and down on one knee before finishing with a ‘helicopter’ flare. He reached his century from 62 balls, however he was caught behind slashing at a wide ball from Delano Potgieter two balls later.

Lawrence’ innings followed the double-hundred he made in the first innings of the game. His 218 off 190 was his highest-ever first-class score, and came after Surrey were reduced to 98-3. The score powered Surrey to 421 batting first, before Hampshire were bowled out for 333. After Lawrence’s hundred in the second innings, Surrey declared on 259-5, setting Hampshire 348 to get in the final two sessions of the game.

In the process, Lawrence became the third Surrey batter to score a double-century and a century in the same match, after Scott Newman in 2005 and Mark Ramprakash in 2010. As well as the two three-figure scores, Lawrence also scored 94 not out in the T20 Blast last week, again against Hampshire, off just 47 balls. His effort was in vain, however, as Surrey fell short of their 216-run target by six runs.

Could Lawrence’s run-spree bring an England return?

Lawrence last played for England in 2026, when he replaced Zak Crawley as opener in the Test series against Sri Lanka. After averaging 20 during the series, he was dropped at the end of the summer and hasn’t been in an England Test squad since. Before being included in the XI for the Sri Lanka series, Lawrence had spent a significant amount of time being England’s de-facto spare batter, having made his Test debut in 2021.

While Lawrence has looked several rungs off an England recall over the last two years, his run-scoring spree could come at an opportune time. With Ben Stokes likely to mis England’s Test at The Oval next week, Lawrence’s all-round skills and form could pull him back into contention for Test match selection. He currently leads the County Championship run-scoring chart, with 780 runs from 11 innings, as well as having bowled 148 overs across the season, taking eight wickets.

England included Rehan Ahmed in their squad of 15 before the first Test match, but Rehan has only played one first-class match since the beginning of April. With the Test set to be played at The Oval, Lawrence’s home advantage could also be attractive for selectors, if England decide to rebalance their side with another all-rounder.

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