England's Dan Lawrence aims to score runs, stay in contention for future selection

Manchester [UK], August 20 (ANI): England batter Dan Lawrence is aiming to put runs on board and put his name in the hat for his selection in the squad in the future. England will kick off a three-match Test series against Sri Lanka in Manchester on Wednesday. Lawrence, who played his last Test against the West Indies in 2022, was also included in the playing XI. While outlining his plan for the three Tests against Sri Lanka, the 27-year-old wants to enjoy his time on the crease and put runs on the board to stay in contention for England's Test team in the future.

"I was just waiting for an opportunity. And wherever that was, in the order, I was going to snap their hands off for it. So I'm just going to enjoy these few weeks and hopefully score some runs and put my name in the hat for future selection," Lawrence said, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.

"I think ultimately, the best thing about this environment is allowing players - or new players - to go out there and be as free as possible. Whereas, necessarily, in the past, it might not have been like that. But watching all the boys go out there and debut and take five-fors and score loads of runs, it's quite evident that boys are going out there and just relaxing and having a good time. And that's what I'm going to try and do," he added.

With Ben Stokes out of the mix due to injury, England named Ollie Pope as the skipper of the side while announcing their playing XI. With Pope taking the captaincy charge, Harry Brook will serve as his deputy for the three Tests. Recently, England recorded a 3-0 series sweep against the Windies to move up to 6th place in the World Test Championship standings. However, South Africa's recent 1-0 series win over the West Indies led to England dropping to the seventh spot. They will look to improve their standings and push their name for the WTC final, which will be played next year at The Lord's.

England's (Playing XI) for the first Test against Sri Lanka: Dan Lawrence, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (C), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith (WK), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Matthew Potts, Mark Wood, Shoaib Bashir. (ANI)