News Analysis
What links Moeen Ali, Mason Crane, Jack Leach, Dom Bess, Adil Rashid, Matt Parkinson, Will Jacks, Liam Livingstone, Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley and Shoaib Bashir? All 11 have been tried as frontline spin options for England since Liam Dawson last pulled on a Test shirt eight years ago. On Wednesday, at 35, Dawson finally gets another go.
England’s decision feels deliberately low-key. Over the past three seasons they have spoken loudly about “ceiling” and “upside”, grooming T20 all-rounders and raw prospects for the longer format. This week the tone changed: pick a seasoned county pro who simply gets the job done.
County returns hard to ignore
Dawson’s numbers demand respect. Seven first-class hundreds and 10 five-fors since the start of 2023. Batting average 47.59, bowling 25.63. Hampshire head coach Adi Birrell summed it up neatly. “He’s been a huge player for us,” he said. “He’s actually got better and better, too.” No gloss, just evidence.
Birrell believes the call-up is a nod to county cricket itself. “It goes to show that if you consistently perform, the door will open at some stage,” he added. “It shows that there is still the option of being [picked as] a county stalwart. It is great that England have selected him.”
Mixed history with England
That door had seemed firmly shut. Dawson’s relationship with selectors frayed last year when plans for the 50-over World Cup changed overnight. “Luke Wright basically told me I was going to go to the World Cup, and to get a little bit fitter,” Dawson recalled on the Analyst podcast. “And I received a call the next day to say that I wasn’t going.” Hard not to be miffed.
Skipping the Pakistan Super League to play early-season county matches felt like a gamble at the time, yet it meant overs in his legs rather than air miles. Dawson even admitted Test cricket was “completely off the radar”. In his own blunt words: “It’s not something that I want to be doing, running drinks, at my age.” Fair point.
Quiet re-entry through T20s
A tidy four for 20 against West Indies in June eased him back into the international dressing-room. Harry Brook liked what he saw. “He’s a wily, old fox,” Brook said this week. “He’s willing to always fight for the team, he’s very competitive, and it’s good to have him here.” That competitiveness weighs heavier than talk of potential.
Why now?
Conditions in India will still favour spin, Ben Stokes needs control, and none of the younger slow bowlers have nailed a place. Dawson offers left-arm accuracy, handy lower-order runs and, crucially, hundreds of overs of recent red-ball bowling. He is, to pinch a football phrase, plug-and-play.
What England lose in mystery they gain in reliability. Dawson won’t rip through sides on day one but Stokes can bank on him holding an end, letting quicks rotate. In a series where tempo often shifts in a single session, such stability has worth.
Long-term picture
Is this a sticking-plaster or something more? At 35 Dawson is unlikely to front a five-year strategy. Yet England’s constant churn at No.1 spinner has left them craving something steady. A successful series here might at least buy time for the likes of Rehan Ahmed or Bashir to develop without being thrown in every other week.
For Dawson, a quiet perseverance has paid off. No grand narrative, no drama—just a solid county professional who kept scoring runs, kept taking wickets and never quite gave up hope. In an era of franchise deals and rapid selections, that is oddly refreshing.
