Dan Lawrence will no longer be a part of the England Squad for this week’s second Test match against Pakistan which will commence in Southampton in order to support his family in a situation of grief & sorrow, ECB announced on Monday.
The 23 year old star batsman has been in the squad’s bio-secure bubble during the past four matches. Lawrence had an opportunity to replace Ben Stokes who will head to New Zealand for certain personal reasons but now the sudden withdrawal of Lawrence gives way for the return of Zak Crawley after staying out for two integral Test matches.
England said that they will not look for any replacements either for Lawrence or Stokes. All-rounder Stokes who has played in England’s three wicket win in last week’s first test against Pakistan at Old Trafford will miss the final two Test matches of the three match Test series against England. His parents live in New Zealand where Stokes was born & was brought up in England.
Stokes’s father Ged is a former New Zealand rugby league International & has underwent three operations & spent about 37 days in a Johannesburg hospital after being admitted in December by following his son during England’s tour of South Africa. His condition initially was critical & now has been stabilized after Stokes return to New Zealand.
Talking about Stokes absence due to family emergency & Lawrence departure due to family bereavement Anderson said on Monday, “It’s a big blow for us because Stokes is a big part of our team on the field and off it. Obviously family comes first and we all rally around him and support him as best we can. We’ve got two games left to play and we’re confident with the guys we’ve got here, there’s a lot of quality and whoever comes in we’re sure will be fantastic.”
