Your Site Cricket's Nasser Hussain says he would have drafted in Surrey's Dan Lawrence for England's second Test against New Zealand at The Oval.
Lawrence made 319 across two innings for Surrey as his side drew with Hampshire in a rain-stricken County Championship match at The Oval.
Lawrence, who made the last of his 14 Test appearances as an opener against Sri Lanka in September 2024, notched 101 off 64 balls, including five sixes and seven fours.
That sensational performance followed his first-innings 218 from 190 balls and strengthened his already strong England credentials. His heroics could only lead Surrey to a draw in a game that saw 92 overs lost to bad weather.
The batter is averaging 78 in the County Championship and is the leading run scorer in Division One, leading former England captain Hussain to call for his inclusion in the international setup on the Your Site Cricket Podcast.
"I'd have gone Dan Lawrence and not just on the back of two hundreds there this week," he said.
"We did a County Championship game earlier in the season, albeit on a flat pitch. He looked like he was getting in some really good positions, having a little bit of a slow start to the season, actually a couple of loose shots.
"Since then he's been outstanding, and bowls a bit of off-spin - that's the role Dan Lawrence does at Surrey at The Oval.
"He's batting back where he should be batting in the middle order anywhere from four to seven, I personally would have gone with Dan Lawrence.
"I would've said that before this championship game too, especially at The Oval."
Former England opener Dom Sibley (105no) also got in on the act with a century of his own as Surrey set Hampshire a fourth-innings target of 348, but the visitors were happy to bat for a draw, with opener Ali Orr finishing on 53no as the hands were shaken with 20 overs left unbowled on day four.
Former England opener Zak Crawley has taken a break from first-class cricket to "recharge", just weeks after losing his international place.
Crawley was dropped by the Test selectors after the disappointment of the Ashes, departing with a modest average of just 31.20 after 64 appearances in the top order.
Like all of England's misfiring batters, he had been challenged to prove himself in the Rothesay County Championship but the 28-year-old has never been a prolific domestic run-scorer. And so it proved once again as he averaged a sketchy 20.54 across 12 innings, without a single half-century.
Now, just a few days after Emilio Gay made a solid first impression in his old England opening berth, Crawley had stepped away from red-ball cricket by opting out of Kent's clash with Lancashire on Friday, as well as the subsequent game against Middlesex.
With an England recall surely a distant prospect, it is not hard to believe that this could be the start of a more permanent shift towards white-ball cricket for Crawley. He was a big-money signing by Sunrisers Leeds in the inaugural Hundred auction and has reportedly been lined up to captain the franchise.
A statement from Kent read: "After discussions between Zak Crawley, the player group, coaching staff and the ECB, Crawley will be rested for the next two County Championship fixtures.
"This period will allow him to recharge so he can fully commit and give his all for the remainder of the season, with his immediate focus shifting to T20 cricket through to the end of the Vitality Blast."
Crawley's central contract with England ends in September and he is no position to command another.
He could instead choose to pursue a career on the franchise circuit but such an avenue is no guarantee given he was dropped during an overseas stint with SA20 side Sunrisers Eastern Cape last year.
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Hear more from Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain on the latest Your Site Cricket podcast, where the two former England captains joined Ian Ward to reflect on a dramatic few days for England's Test side. or .
