Dan Lawrence has not played a Test match in two years. His last appearance ended with a highest score of 35 across six innings as a makeshift opener against Sri Lanka. England dropped him in September 2024 and moved on.
Now he is back. National selector Marcus North named Lawrence in England’s 16-man squad for the first two Tests against Pakistan, starting at Headingley on August 19. He will bat at number six, the position Ben Stokes owned for the better part of a decade.
Lawrence’s county form made the recall unavoidable. Playing for Surrey in the 2026 Rothesay County Championship, he has scored 788 runs at an average of 65.66 with five centuries. He is the second-highest run scorer in Division One this season.
In June, he hit a maiden first-class double century, 218 off 190 balls against Hampshire at the Oval, with 31 fours and five sixes. He put on 255 with Ollie Pope for the fourth wicket, a Surrey record against Hampshire. He received his county cap during the tea interval of that match, already on 150 not out.
“An advanced, better player than he was when he last played.”
Marcus North, England squad announcement, August 2026
The second-leading run-scorer in Division One of the County Championship this season, Dan Lawrence is set for his first Test appearance in nearly two years 🏴#Cricket #ENGvPAK pic.twitter.com/BxwW54LNkl
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) August 6, 2026
That transformation matters because Lawrence’s previous England career offered more frustration than fulfilment. He debuted in January 2021 against Sri Lanka in Galle and scored 73 in his first innings. Across 14 Tests, he accumulated 671 runs at 26.84 with a highest score of 92 and zero centuries.
England never settled on where he belonged. He batted at three, four, five, six, and as an opener across those 14 caps.
His final stint was the worst. Zak Crawley broke a finger before the 2024 Sri Lanka series, and Lawrence was asked to open. He scored 35, 20, 6, 0, 17, and 4.
The squad Lawrence returns to looks nothing like the one he left. Stokes announced his retirement on June 29 during the third Test against New Zealand at Trent Bridge, ending a 122-Test career. Brendon McCullum was sacked as Test coach.
Stephen Fleming was appointed as the new head coach, though Marcus Trescothick will oversee the Pakistan series on an interim basis. Joe Root has returned as captain for the first time since 2022.
Jacob Bethell, the young all-rounder who might have taken the number six spot, is ruled out for the entire series with a right knee injury. Jordan Cox moves to number three despite batting there only once in first-class cricket. Pope returns after nine months away.
England have won just two of their last eight Tests, losing the Ashes 4-1 in Australia and the home series against New Zealand 1-2.
Why Lawrence Is Not the Stokes Replacement
Stokes scored 6,631 Test runs and took 199 Test wickets. He bowled 15-over spells on flat pitches. He captained through crisis and counterattacked when the game was lost. No one in English cricket does all of that.
Lawrence bats and bowls occasional off-spin with an unusual action. He has 64 first-class wickets across his career and took nine Championship wickets this season. That is useful for the odd over when Root wants to rotate. It does not replace what Stokes provided.
England considered Sam Curran as a like-for-like option.
“At this stage with a couple of niggles, we don’t feel physically he’s quite there. It would be unfair to put him into these first two Tests.”
Marcus North, England squad announcement, August 2026
The selectors also stated that any Stokes replacement needs to have “the skillset to be successful at Test level.” No such player is currently available. Lawrence’s selection is a concession that the squad must be restructured around batting depth rather than all-round balance.
Insider Read
Scoring 218 off 190 balls against Hampshire at the Oval in June was extraordinary. But county attacks and Test attacks are different animals. The fields are different. The lengths are different. The margin for error at international level shrinks to almost nothing.
Lawrence’s method is to attack from ball one. A strike rate of 115 in county cricket tells you he scores fast and puts pressure on bowlers who cannot sustain the quality to contain him. At Test level, against Shaheen Afridi with a new ball at Headingley under cloud cover, that same instinct becomes a gamble. The line between aggressive intent and reckless shot selection is thinner than any statistic can show.
His 14-Test average of 26.84 with zero centuries is the record that matters until he changes it. The first Test begins on August 19 at Headingley. The predicted England XI: Duckett, Gay, Cox, Root, Brook, Lawrence, Smith, Atkinson, Archer, Robinson, Tongue.
Lawrence will walk out at six, probably with the ball still relatively new, against bowling of a quality he has not faced in two years. Everything he has done for Surrey this summer says he is ready. Everything in his Test record says the jury is still out.
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