England’s cricketers returned to the middle for the first time since their tour of Sri Lanka was abandoned in March with two uncapped batsmen, James Bracey and Dan Lawrence, catching the eye at the Ageas Bowl.
A three-day intra-squad match between teams captained by Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler represents England’s sole warm-up for next Wednesday’s first Test against West Indies at the same venue and by stumps on day one the latter’s men were 287 for five.
Stokes, who leads the Test side next week owing to Joe Root’s paternity leave, watched as Gloucestershire’s Bracey compiled a compact 85 while opening before Lawrence, at No 4, produced a more dashing 58 that suggested the 22-year-old’s golden form has not been affected by the break.
These scores will not go against their personal records – the match is not first-class given it has more than 11 players per side – but making an impression among the senior set-up meant more.
“I’m delighted with today. It was a great opportunity to face the new ball. Jimmy Anderson bowled a long spell at the start and it was nice to combat one of the world’s best,” said Bracey, the most recent Lions wicketkeeper but a top-order batsman for his county.
“I played with [Lawrence] all winter, a spin camp in India and the Lions in Australia and he was outrageous. He’s good at going through the gears but has a defensive game – the technique to play Test cricket.”
Lawrence, one of two wickets for Anderson in an important 18-over workout, is perhaps the closest of the pair to a debut. The England coach, Chris Silverwood, knows the wristy right-hander from his time at Essex and could yet be tempted to fill Root’s vacancy this way.
That said, Joe Denly and Zak Crawley were already in a battle for the No 3 spot, given the return of Rory Burns after ankle surgery, and this could well spill over into the first Test. Denly certainly helped his case for retention, batting 102 balls for 48 in a stand of 98 with Bracey before being trapped lbw by Anderson. Had Saqib Mahmood not overstepped, he would have been bowled for 12.
Burns made 21 in his first outing since his football injury in Cape Town in January before a loose drive meant he was caught behind off Craig Overton.
The Somerset twins will be happy with their work. While Craig made it two for the day when pinning Ollie Pope lbw for 25, the originally overlooked Jamie was also called upon after Ollie Stone reported an hamstring problem and strangled Bracey down leg in an aggressive six-over burst.
There was a degree of rustiness on show in this live-streamed affair – to be expected after a 111-day hiatus – and not much joy for the spinners Jack Leach and Moeen Ali, while the standout performers may not be rewarded with caps immediately unless Lawrence proves too alluring.
The England management, having talked up their red-ball squad’s depth during this buildup period, can start to feel a touch more vindicated.
