Dan’s the man as Lawrence blistering with bat in single over for Surrey CCC

BY MARCUS HOOK

Dan Lawrence limbered up for this season’s first clash between Surrey and Essex by hitting a career-best 175 at Worcester, where the Oval outfit expunged the memory of losing heavily to Hampshire, prior to the start of the T20 Blast, to remain top of the County Championship.

The 26-year-old, who left Essex at the end of last summer, also became the first batter to hit five sixes in a single over for Surrey in a first-class match as England spinner Shoaib Bashir conceded 38 runs, the joint most in an over in championship history.

Lawrence launched the first five deliveries into the stands before Bashir bowled a wide that went for four byes – counting as five to the bowler – as well as a no-ball, off which a single was taken, costing three.

Lawrence said: “Have I ever had a better day’s cricket? It is right up there.

“It was fun after lunch. It was a bit slow going beforehand because I wanted to try and set it up and see what we could do.

“It was more about getting to the break and then having a few discussions about how to play the situation.

“When we lost JT (James Taylor) at number 10, it was a no-brainer for me to then put my foot down and try and score as many runs as quickly as possible.

“After three balls, I was going to try and go for all of them [sixes]. It was downwind and a short boundary and I just fancied my chances. Thankfully, I got five away. I couldn’t get the last one, but it was fun.”

The 50-over Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Trophy resumes on Sunday and South East Stars will be keen to exact revenge for their seven-wicket defeat to The Blaze in the final of the Charlotte Edwards Cup.

After beating Southern Vipers by five runs in the second semi-final, at Derby, Stars could only muster 141-9 in their 20 overs against The Blaze, who reeled in the target with eight balls to spare thanks to a 79-run stand between Kathryn Bryce (62) and Sarah Bryce (52 not out).

“It’s not nice to lose a final,” said South East Stars head coach Johann Myburgh. “We have a lot of belief in our ability as a group and the girls set high standards for themselves, so they are obviously very disappointed.

“It is always small things that make the difference. We posted a pretty competitive score on what was starting to be a tired surface, but we probably didn’t bowl quite as well as we could have.

“We are a young, talented squad and we’ll take some inspiration from the way The Blaze bounced back from their experience in losing finals last season. It will hurt, but it will make us stronger as a group.”

PICTURE: KEITH GILLARD