Much of Surrey’s pursuit of a third straight County Championship which, weather permitting, starts away to Lancashire on Friday, will be viewed through the prism of Alec Stewart’s long goodbye.

The England great announced last month that he will leave his post as director of cricket at the end of the year, calling time on at least the formal part of his association with the county he has steered back to the summit as the domestic game’s dominant force, adding to the legacy of the three Championships he won as a player.

It says quite something for the prodigious talent of Tom Lawes, then, that this summer presents a chance to equal that tally while still just 21.

“If I can match my performances from last year, or maybe even contribute a little bit more with the bat, I’d be really happy,” says Lawes, who took 39 wickets at less than 20 in what felt like second successive breakthrough season in 2023.

By its end, bowling alongside Kemar Roach, Jordan Clark and Dan Worrall to name only part of Surrey’s all-conquering seam attack, he was leading the way with crucial five-fors against Hampshire and Northants to secure the title.

“What you want to do when you’re playing in a team like this is put in a performance that can help contribute to a win and not just be a sideline player,” he says, though there is no complacency over his, or Surrey’s, standing heading into the new campaign, which was delayed until at least after lunch on Friday.

“It’s the same as last year: starting afresh. The goal is to go again, and we’re all keen and eager to get going.”

Lawes’s summer form led to a first England Lions opportunity this winter, part of a pre-Christmas training camp in the UAE and then the ‘A’ tour to India, the former of which included the chance to work alongside Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff.

“That was a quite surreal,” says Lawes, Flintoff having mentored the group as part of his increasing re-involvement in the England set-up. “Him and [Graeme] Swanny were in Abu Dhabi with us and did quite a lot. I did a little bit of bowling work with ‘Fred’ and it was just really cool to ask questions.

“The stories he’s got are unbelievable and the experiences that he shared were invaluable, really. It was a really cool experience.”

It is a further reminder of Lawes’s youth that he has no live memory of Flintoff’s finest hours in the 2005 Ashes, unsurprisingly so, given he was not yet three at the time. Naturally, though, he was brought up on the DVD boxset (“I’ve watched it millions of times”).

“He’s obviously got that aura about him,” Lawes adds. “But he’s genuinely the friendliest, nicest, most approachable guy. I got on really well with him, asked lots of questions.

“He was like, ‘I’m here for as much or as little as you need’. He’s really understanding, really good to talk to and I really enjoyed working with him.”

Lawes played only once in the first-class leg of the India tour, dogged by a bruised heel, and left feeling he had “more to give”. Clearly, though, he made enough of an impression on Flintoff across the course of the winter, because in last month’s Hundred Draft the new Northern Superchargers head coach was quick to pounce.

Tom Lawes on working with Andrew 'Freddie' Flintoff

“I was watching it on YouTube, but I found out like an hour before, because I think it was on an hour delay,” he says. “Fred dropped me a message saying he was buzzing to have me. I told him I was buzzing to be picked up, can’t wait.”

Immediate focus, though, is on the red-ball season and a title to defend. The opener at Old Trafford marked the beginning of the end of an era at Surrey. Having penned a new long-term contract last autumn, though, Lawes is certain to be a centrepiece of the next.