Photo Credit: Brisbane Heat
Gifted English batting talent Dan Lawrence will become the latest BBL debutant for the Brisbane Heat this summer.
The Essex product will join the Heat as an international replacement for fellow Englishman Tom Banton for the start of the KFC Big Bash League that gets underway next month.
Banton and his Somerset teammate, allrounder Lewis Gregory, will be both be involved with England’s upcoming tour of South Africa which will see them miss the start of the BBL next month.
The 22-year-old Lawrence was the stand-out batsman for the English Lions on their unbeaten ‘A’ tour of Australia last summer, hitting two centuries on the way to 498 runs at 98.6 as well as snaring 11 wickets at 23 with his right-arm off-spin.
Lawrence was 17 when he scored his maiden first class century, a knock of 161 in just his second first class game for Essex, the third youngest player in County cricket history to do so, and he has since developed into a formidable three-format player.
He was a key member of Essex’s T20 Blast title in 2019 as well as their two recent County titles and was named as one of the ‘local icons’ for London Spirit in the inaugural Hundred draft last year.
Lawrence, who grew up in a house attached to his local club ground, was included as a reserve batsman in the English Test squad to play against Pakistan during the UK summer but withdrew due to a family bereavement.
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The right-handed batting allrounder will link with Brisbane later this month and Heat coach Darren Lehmann said he was delighted to welcome him into the squad.
“Dan is a really exciting pick-up for us and has a good reputation as a young player who can influence results with his skills and experience,’’ he said.
“He caught the eye during the Lions tour with the way he adapted so successfully to local conditions and that is something we think will help at the start of the tournament when we are playing in Canberra and at the Gabba and Metricon Stadium,’’ Lehmann said.
“Hopefully we can assist him to further develop as a player and also provide him with the stage to showcase his skills for the English selectors and give them reasons to look at him as part of their Ashes set-up for next season.”
Lawrence said he had thoroughly enjoyed his time in Australia during the Lions tour and was thrilled to be coming out to play in the BBL.
“The BBL is a bit of a staple diet for us at home during our winter and it will be enormous to be a part of the League out there this summer,’’ he said. “The Lions tour was a rewarding one for a lot of the squad and we certainly enjoyed the competitive cricket we got.”
“We were able to play in some excellent venues during the tour. We didn’t get to play at the Gabba but we had a match at Metricon Stadium on the Gold Coast which was great.”
“I kept a pretty close eye on Tom Banton and the other English players who were in the BBL and so coming out to join the Heat is going to give me the chance now to challenge myself again in Australian conditions,” he said.
“I’m looking forward to meeting everyone at the Heat and working with the lads to get the team off to a good start.”
BBL teams this summer will be able to field three overseas players in their starting teams, with Banton, Gregory and Afghanistan spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman the Heat’s recruits and Lawrence coming in as a replacement international.
The Heat open its season in Canberra on 11 December against the Melbourne Stars followed by a clash with the Sydney Thunder on 14 December at Manuka Oval before returning home to play the next block of games.
The newly revamped Gabba and Metricon Stadium will host Heat home games as well as neutral matches once the competition reverts to Queensland from 23 December.
The Heat will host the Adelaide Strikers at the Gabba on 23 December and the Hobart Hurricanes on 27 December as well as being the ‘away’ team on 30 December when they clash with the Hurricanes in the return clash at the Gabba.
Venues for matches scheduled in the New Year will be announced in the coming weeks, with additional games earmarked for the Gabba and Metricon Stadium.
The Heat have announced the following players so far for BBL|10:
Tom Banton (Eng)
Max Bryant
Joe Burns
Tom Cooper (NEW)
Lewis Gregory (NEW, Eng)
Sam Heazlett
Matthew Kuhnemann
Marnus Labuschagne
Ben Laughlin
Dan Lawrence (NEW, Eng)
Chris Lynn
Morne Morkel (NEW)
Jimmy Peirson
Mark Steketee
Mitch Swepson
Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Afghanistan)
Jack Wildermuth (NEW)
