Liam Dawson last played a Test for England in 2017
Veteran spinner Liam Dawson is set to make his first Test appearance in eight years, having been named in the England squad to face India at Old Trafford on Wednesday.
The 35-year-old left-arm orthodox bowler replaces off-spinner Shoaib Bashir, who sustained a broken finger during England’s thrilling victory in the third Test at Lord’s.
Pace bowler Chris Woakes retains his spot in the lineup, while Gus Atkinson is not being risked for a comeback after a two-month absence due to a hamstring injury.
England currently lead the series 2-1 and will secure the series victory if they win the fourth Test in Manchester. Their last series win in a five-Test match format was in 2018.
Dawson, who represents Hampshire, will earn his fourth Test cap, with his third appearance dating back to July 2017 against South Africa.
Since Dawson’s last Test, England have played 102 matches. Only six players in the history of Test cricket have had longer gaps between appearances.
In addition to his left-arm spin, Dawson also bolsters England’s batting lineup, particularly in the lower order. He has 18 first-class centuries to his name, and his average of 35.29 exceeds that of opener Zak Crawley.
A member of the 2019 World Cup-winning squad, Dawson’s international career appeared to be waning. Following sporadic appearances in white-ball cricket in 2022, he went over three years without a call-up.
Earlier this summer, he expressed a “realistic” perspective on his England prospects, only to receive a recall for the T20 series against the West Indies in May.
He now has an opportunity in the Test side, ahead of fellow left-arm spinner Jack Leach, who was part of England’s squads during the winter and holds a central contract.
“He brings experience and guile,” batter Harry Brook told BBC Sport. “He’s very skilful.
“He’s been around the block, played hundreds of games and he’s a great bloke. He’s very competitive and he’s a very good player.
“He was very nervous before his T20 comeback and I’m sure he’ll be nervous this week. I’m sure he’ll let his experience and skills take over.”
England XI for fourth Test v India: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith (wicketkeeper), Liam Dawson, Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer.
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Brook on the ‘needle’ between England and India in their fourth Test match
Woakes has struggled to make an impact in the first three Tests, though did have his most successful match at Lord’s, taking four wickets.
He gets the nod over Atkinson partly because of his record on this ground. The 36-year-old averages almost 37 with the bat and 17 with the ball in Manchester.
Atkinson was put through a fitness test at Old Trafford on Monday. He has not played professionally since injuring his hamstring in the one-off Test against Zimbabwe in May.
He was deemed fit enough if required, but given the other options in the squad and the fact Atkinson has played only one day of club cricket in two months, there was no need for England to take a risk.
Atkinson will now return to Surrey. The first XI have a County Championship fixture away at Yorkshire, beginning on Tuesday, but Atkinson will instead build up his fitness for the second XI against Somerset on the same day.
Any slim chance that fellow pace bowler Mark Wood could return for the fifth Test following knee surgery is now over. Wood is instead targeting the white-ball matches against South Africa at the end of the summer.
India will make at least one change to the side beaten at Lord’s, after all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy was ruled out of the rest of the series with a knee injury.
Wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant batted in the nets on Monday and looks to have recovered from the finger injury that hampered him in the third Test.
There is yet no decision on Jasprit Bumrah. The star pace bowler was set to play only three of the five Tests and has so far featured in two.
Following a week of rest between the third and fourth Tests, the tourists must surely be tempted to unleash Bumrah in order to keep the series alive.
India have never lost any of the nine Tests they have played in Manchester, dating back to 1936.
England have lost only two of the 20 Tests they have played on this ground this century.
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