The recall of Dan Lawrence for the first two Tests against Pakistan is a sign not just of changing times, but of a changed player.It is nearly two years since Lawrence’s last crack at the highest level ended with a whimper disguised as a bang – a wild charge down the pitch at Sri Lankan quick Lahiru Kumara and a thick edge to the wicketkeeper, as England threw away the chance to win every Test of a home summer for the first time in 20 years.Having been asked to open in place of the injured Zak Crawley, Lawrence finished that series with 120 runs at an average of 20, and the sense that he had tried too hard to fit in with the Bazballers. Brendon McCullum did not come calling again.His response to that disappointment has been compelling: 922 championship runs at 54 in 2025, followed by 788 at 65 so far in 2026. Only Nottinghamshire’s Joe Clarke has made more runs in Division One, while no one has matched Lawrence’s haul of hundreds (five) or tally of sixes (16). His strike-rate is a boisterous 80.Against Hampshire in June, he followed 218 off 190 balls (out of 365 while he was at the wicket) with 101 off 64 (out of 149). As England’s new national selector Marcus North put it on Thursday: ‘We feel he’s a better player than when he last played for England.’North is right, but it goes deeper than that. Lawrence, who will bat at No 6 when the Pakistan series starts at Headingley on August 19, is more comfortable in his own skin than at any time in a career that has brought him 14 Test caps since a promising debut in Sri Lanka in early 2021, as well as 24 first-class hundreds. Dan Lawrence has been in superb form for Surrey this season, racking up more runs than any player in Division One bar Joe Clarke It has won him the chance to change his unremarkable record in Test cricket when England take on Pakistan later this month‘He is a top player, full stop,’ says Alec Stewart, Surrey’s director of cricket. ‘But how he batted when he opened for England last time he played, I would suggest strongly that was not Dan Lawrence.‘That was the perception of what was expected of how an England player should play at that time. That was someone with his name on the back of his shirt, but it wasn’t him batting.‘Every individual has to take responsibility, of course, but I would suggest he’s gone away from there and said: “That wasn’t me. I’ve not done myself justice.” It would have affected him, definitely.’If anything, Lawrence, now 29, has had to work out how best to use his many natural talents, honed in the indoor nets at Chingford CC, where he would pester his groundsman dad, Mark, to throw him ball after ball.England believe it is only now, after a few years spent tinkering with his technique, that he has reverted to his natural game. As one insider described it: ‘Quirky, but very good.’Stewart agrees: ‘He’s reverted back to, being more – I hate using the word – correct. He can still play shots that make you go “wow!”, but he’s stood still, his head’s up, and he’s moved accordingly. He was leg-side dominant, but his game has evolved.‘Whereas other times he’s opened up his stance a bit or moved on to off stump or stayed leg side. He’s experimented, but he’s now found the method that produces consistent results. He understands his game.’Lawrence isn’t necessarily guaranteed the whole series. If England think the pitch for the third Test at Edgbaston will offer turn, all-rounder Sam Curran could take his place to make room for the off-breaks of Shoaib Bashir. But Lawrence can give the selectors a headache in the No 6 role where, Stewart believes, he can best find his natural tempo. Lawrence impressed reappointed England captain Joe Root (right) with his selfless batting in the West Indies back in 2022 ‘He’s found the method that produces consistent results,’ says Surrey director of cricket Alec Stewart of Lawrence. ‘He understands his game’Even putting to one side his failed experiment as an opener, Lawrence has never been given the chance to find his feet at Test level, batting in every position from No 2 to 7 in just 27 innings. A Test CV boasting 671 runs at under 27 is no reflection of his gifts.There have, though, been moments along the way: 73 on debut against Sri Lanka in Galle, an unbeaten 81 against New Zealand at Edgbaston, some selfless batting in the Caribbean in early 2022 that went down well with both Joe Root and Ben Stokes. And it is those moments, not the recklessness of two summers ago, that the selectors believe represent the real Dan Lawrence.‘He’s earned this selection,’ says Stewart. ‘Not to have a go at the other lot, but there have been some left-field selections recently, whereas this is a deserved one. They’ve seen how he’s gone about his batting against some good attacks in tricky conditions.‘I keep saying to him: “Just go and play like Dan Lawrence. That’s why you’ve been selected. Just replicate that. Don’t think you have to play another way.”’After striking the wrong tone against Sri Lanka, that should be music to his ears.