Spin-bowling all-rounder Liam Dawson has been drafted into England’s squad for the fourth Test against India, which begins on 23 July at Old Trafford. The 35-year-old replaces Shoaib Bashir, who fractured a finger while securing England’s tense 22-run victory at Lord’s.
“Liam Dawson deserves his call-up. He has been in outstanding form in the County Championship and consistently puts in strong performances for Hampshire,” national selector Luke Wright said.
Dawson’s last Test appearance came back in July 2017. Since then he has quietly piled up first-class overs for Hampshire, earning back-to-back PCA Player-of-the-Year awards in 2023 and 2024. This summer he has 21 Championship wickets at 40.04 and a tidy haul of 11 wickets from ten Vitality Blast outings. Modest numbers, perhaps, yet they underline reliability as much as outright sting.
The left-arm spinner admitted only last year that Test cricket was “completely off the radar” for him, so the door’s sudden reopening is a reminder of how quickly fortunes can turn. England value the control he offers, along with handy lower-order runs—assets that could ease the workload on frontline quicks Jofra Archer and Gus Atkinson, especially if Old Trafford lives up to its reputation for taking turn late in the match.
England lead the Anderson–Tendulkar Trophy 2-1 after that nail-biter at Lord’s, where Bashir’s dismissal of Mohammed Siraj settled the contest. The hosts will fancy sealing the series in Manchester, though India’s attack has looked increasingly threatening as conditions have dried out.
Bashir’s injury is a blow—his bounce and drift had troubled India’s right-handers—but the selectors have resisted any temptation to rush back an under-cooked Jack Leach. Instead Dawson, owner of three Test caps and plenty of cricketing mileage, gets an unexpected opportunity.
Squad: Ben Stokes (capt), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Liam Dawson, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes.
England train in Manchester later this week; Dawson will link up after Hampshire’s Championship fixture. Whether he plays hinges on balance: two spinners is plausible if the pitch looks dry, but Stokes may prefer extra pace if cloud cover is forecast.
Either way, Dawson’s recall is a timely reward for persistence—a reminder that county form can still force its way into England whites, even eight years on.
