Alex Lees cracked 94-ball century for England Lions

• Alex Lees played in all seven of England’s Test matches this summer.
• He scored 327 runs at 25.15, including two half-centuries.
• However, Lees was dropped for the most recent tour of Pakistan.

Alex Lees upheld the quick-thinking ideas that had been instilled in him during his summer in the Test ranks of England on the opening day of the England Lions’ tour of Sri Lanka. He needed 94 balls to score a century.

After making 327 runs at 25.15, including two half-centuries, Lees, who made his international debut in the Caribbean in March of last year, played in all seven of England’s Test matches during a remarkable summer under the new leadership of Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes. However, Lees was dropped for the most recent tour of Pakistan.

Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett were preferred in Pakistan, and his exclusion from the ECB’s list of centrally contracted players was another indication that he had fallen down the pecking order. However, his performance against the Sri Lanka President’s XI was convincing proof that the Test team’s new mentality is deeply ingrained in his being.

He scored 103 runs in his innings, the second-fastest century in England Lions history (after Luke Wright, the new national selector, who did it in 91 balls in New Zealand in 2009), with 12 fours and two sixes.

Before the visit, Lees recognized that a recall for England might not be imminent due to the necessity of supporting the current Test incumbents. Nevertheless, he acknowledged that his top score of 67 in ten Tests—which came in two crucial run chases against New Zealand and India—had been his demise despite his patchy success.

“I think I enjoyed being in that environment, especially playing in a good side in the summer,” he remarked. “It was fantastic. In my observations on those games, I think I played rather effectively but lacked the big score that made all the difference. You’re averaging mid-twenties to mid-forties as a top-order hitter this summer, which is essentially what your Test summer is designed around.”

While England declared on 413 for 8 after 67 overs, a performance that came at better than a run per ball, and included four additional half-centuries for Tom Abell (57), Josh Bohannon (58), Jack Haynes (64 not out), and Jamie Smith, whose 35-ball at No. 8 was the fastest by an England player at Lions level, Lees’ influence permeated throughout a Lions batting lineup with a decidedly “Bazball” look.

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