Dan Lawrence 'desperate' to establish himself after unbeaten 50 at Lord's

Dan Lawrence said he was "desperate to establish myself in an England shirt" after finishing unbeaten on 50 on the rain-affected third day of the second Test against Pakistan at Lord's on August 29, 2026. England closed the day 177 for seven at stumps, 357 runs ahead.

Play was disrupted by frequent weather interruptions and a chill breeze as the contest for England’s middle-order places intensified in the continued absence of the injured Jacob Bethell. Emilio Gay made a hard-fought 31 before a grubber ended his innings, and Lawrence’s half-century was his second of the Pakistan series, matching Jordan Cox.

"I've really tried not to think about that," Lawrence said of the selection battle after finishing the day unbeaten on 50. "I've tried to just enjoy every day of being here and trying to contribute to the team. It's pointless looking into the future. I'm just trying to give a good showing of myself and thankfully I think I have done."

Lawrence recalled his previous stint in the Test side, three matches as an opener against Sri Lanka in 2024, which yielded three single-digit scores and three scores in the thirties. "I got wrapped up in a lot of things and I was thinking about my position and what I needed to do to stay in the team, instead of just enjoying it and realising how lucky I am to play for England," he said, adding: "My mentality since coming back has been completely different. Hopefully, we get a good series win and then we'll see what happens in the coming months and years."

Preferring the middle order, Lawrence said he did not covet Gay’s opening role: "It has been great fun batting in a position that is a little bit closer to what I'm used to," he said after a third outing at No 6. Gay was trapped lbw by a Mohammad Abbas delivery that kept low; Lawrence paid tribute, saying: "He played beautifully last night, dug in really hard and fought for the team. Hopefully that bit of bad luck he got, he gets all the good luck next week. He can take a lot of confidence in how he played." He also described his own start: "To get off the mark I had a massive big whooshka and edged it over the slips. That could easily have been caught and I'd have looked really stupid."

Of Pakistan’s prospects in the fourth innings, the match report noted that of the four occasions when Pakistan have scored more than 300 runs in the fourth innings to win a Test match, three came against Sri Lanka and only one score exceeded 350. "As far as batting is concerned we can only hope," said Mohammad Ali. "Until the last ball is bowled in cricket, or the last run is made, nothing is decided. Maybe if we can get them out quickly … Miracles do happen in cricket."