Lawrence’s latest hundred not enough for Surrey win – or England call-up

Lawrence’s Latest Hundred Not Enough for Surrey Win – or England Call-up

Surrey drew with Hampshire in a weather-hit match at The Kia Oval, with Dan Lawrence scoring a remarkable hundred but missing out on an England call-up. The match ended in a draw, with Surrey scoring 421 and 259 for 5 declared, while Hampshire scored 333 and 101 for 2.

The Match

Surrey started the final day 145 runs ahead on 57 for 2 in their second innings, but with 92 overs lost to bad weather over the first three days, it was always going to be difficult to force a victory. However, Lawrence’s remarkable hundred, which featured five sixes and seven fours, gave them a chance to declare at 259 for 5 at lunch to leave Hampshire a fourth-innings target of 348 in 64 overs.

Lawrence became only the second player in Championship history to score both a double hundred and hundred at better than a run a ball in the same game, following Graeme Hick for Worcestershire against Glamorgan at Abergavenny in 1990. He is also only the third Surrey batsman, after Mark Ramprakash in 2010 and Scott Newman in 2005, to hit a double hundred and hundred in the same first-class match.

Lawrence’s Innings

Lawrence’s thrilling assault helped Surrey to rack up 202 runs in 32 overs during a morning session in which Hampshire’s only focus was to get their over rate up into positive territory – so as to avoid any points deduction – while also trying their best to stem the scoring rate. Resuming on 57 for 2, Surrey lost nightwatchman Matt Fisher for 12 when he hit Felix Organ’s offspin straight to short mid wicket and Lawrence, joining Dom Sibley, was immediately into his stride.

Unquestionably in prime form after his magnificent first innings 218, and the unbeaten 94 he scored in Surrey’s narrow Vitality Blast defeat against Hampshire last Friday evening, Lawrence took just 35 balls to reach his half-century. Organ, as in Surrey’s first innings, suffered at his hands with several sixes disappearing over the leg-side boundary but it was James Fuller’s fast-medium which brought the most extraordinary of Lawrence’s stream of sweetly-struck strokes.

Crouching down on to one knee, Lawrence simply flicked a ball that was at least a couple of feet outside his off stump to deep square leg for another six. It took him to 88 and, by then, Hampshire’s bowlers were finding it almost impossible to bowl to him. After he fell to Delano Potgieter, after 21 overs of mayhem, Ollie Pope was caught on the deep midwicket ropes for a single and it was Sam Curran who stayed with Sibley until he completed his own hundred with perhaps the best two shots of his entire innings.

Hampshire’s Response

In the penultimate over before lunch Sibley pulled Potgieter for six to go to 96 and then, next ball, drove him powerfully through cover to beat two fielders patrolling the long boundary side of the ground. Curran, by then, had also pulled Potgieter for six. Hampshire finished on 101 for 2, content to bat out time after a new burst of 6-4-10-2 by Reece Topley left them wobbling at 19 for 2.

Ali Orr and Jake Lehmann, though, then stayed together for 34 overs either side of tea to put on 82 for Hampshire’s third wicket. Orr, playing his first Championship match of the season, ended 53 not out from 121 balls and Lehmann was unbeaten on 26 from 103, with hands shaken at 5pm with 20 overs remaining unbowled.