England's Rory Burns may have ground his way to a valuable 81 on the first day of the second Test against New Zealand at Edgbaston on Thursday but what really impressed the opener was team-mate Dan Lawrence's brisk fifty.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Burns batted for more than two full sessions, facing 187 balls, before England reached stumps on 258-7.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
They were a long way from that total, however, at 175-6 after the Surrey left-hander and James Bracey fell to succesive deliveries from Trent Boult.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Lawrence though ensured Burns's hard work was not wasted courtesy of a stylish 67 not featuring 11 fours that delighted a crowd of some 18,000, two-thirds of full capacity, following the easing of Covid-19 restrictions by the British Government.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"It was good to watch wasn't it? Loz played beautifully," said Burns, who himself fell just short of a second hundred in as many weeks following his century at Lord's in the drawn opening Test of this two-match series.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"He enjoys his flair and some of his shot-making was brilliant today," added Burns, who admired how Lawrence coped with a "slightly two-paced" pitch.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"I was watching inside with Sibs (Dominic Sibley) and he hit a punchy cover drive...it was a dot in the end but I was like 'what a shot that is'.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"How he played there and how he managed to be so fluent on that kind of surface was really impressive."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
As for his own feelings after not quite completing another Test hundred, Burns said: "It would have been nice wouldn't it?...To back up the runs at Lord's with another good score is something I'm pretty happy with, but I'm disappointed not to get it home".<\/p>\r\n\r\n
New Zealand had made an extraordinary six changes from Lord's, with half of those injury-enforced and the others a nod to their involvement in next week's inaugural World Test Championship final against India at Southampton.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Matt Henry, who replaced new-ball spearhead Tim Southee, returned fine figures of 2-66 in 22 overs -- a haul that included the key wicket of England captain Joe Root for just four.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Henry was particularly taken by the atmosphere generated by the largest attendance at an England match since the pandemic.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"Special mention to the crowd, they were fantastic. The Hollies Stand was just electric all day," he said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"They were phenomenal, you can see the excitement of everyone getting back into cricket and into stadiums. It was some impressive energy."<\/p>\r\n", "image": "https:\/\/img.cricketnmore.com\/uploads\/2021\/06\/englands-burns-lauds-lawrence-after-tough-day-against-new-zealand.jpg", "alt_img": "Cricket Image for England'S Burns Lauds Lawrence After Tough Day Against New Zealand", "alt_title": "Dan Lawrence", "image1": "", "video": "", "seo_title": "England's Burns Lauds Lawrence After Tough Day Against New Zealand On Cricketnmore", "seo_desc": "Rory Burns impressed by Dan Lawrence's fifty against New Zealand. ", "seo_keywords": "New Zealand Tour Of England, Rory Burns, Dan Lawrence", "tag": "", "tagging": "New Zealand Tour Of England,Rory Burns,Dan Lawrence,", "status": "1", "img_rpt": "0", "google": "1", "standout": "0", "edapps": "0", "pulse": "0", "no_index": "0", "feed": "0", "fixture": "0", "slug": "englands-burns-lauds-lawrence-after-tough-day-against-new-zealand", "user_id": "0", "read_count": "0", "ians_date": "0000-00-00", "ians_time": "00:00:00", "server_time": "0000-00-00 00:00:00", "trash": "0", "view_count": "1965", "page_break": "0", "instant_articles": "1", "auto_link": "1", "created": "2021-06-11 13:05:12", "updated": "2021-06-11 13:06:19", "img_from": "Image Source: AFP", "img_source": "", "schedule_publish": "0000-00-00 00:00:00", "news_keywords": "Dan Lawrence, Rory Burns, New Zealand England, Lawrence, ", "livescore_text": null, "livescore_link": null, "btn_text": null, "resend_feed": "0", "google_feed": "0", "read_more": "0", "posted_by": "21", "jio_date": "2021-06-11 13:05:12", "scheduled": "0", "news_now": "1", "breaking_news": "0", "google_date": "2021-06-11 13:05:12", "featured": "0", "pred_match_id": null, "article_content_type": null, "link": "https:\/\/www.cricketnmore.com\/cricket-news\/englands-burns-lauds-lawrence-after-tough-day-against-new-zealand-77714" }