In a latest injury replacement, England have turned to the emerging cricketer in County Cricket as 35-year-old Liam Dawson will strengthen the England squad for the pivotal fourth Test against India at Old Trafford. During the Lord’s Test, young off-spinner Shoaib Bashir sustained a critical injury in his small finger of his left hand. He still provided his services and became a hero for England due to his last delivery hitting Mohammed Siraj’s stumps to claim an epic victory, which was going out of sight.
A right-arm offspinner, Bashir, who wrote England’s tense 22-run victory in the third Test at Lord’s by claiming the final wicket, sustained the injury in his little finger of his left hand when a fierce drive from Ravindra Jadeja left him in pain. Despite bravely bowling on, scans confirmed a fracture that requires surgery, ending his involvement in the remainder of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series.
Dawson, whose last Test appearance came in 2017 against South Africa, has been one of county cricket’s most consistent performers in recent seasons. The Hampshire all-rounder has claimed 371 first-class wickets and scored 18 centuries in his career, a form that earned him the Professional Cricketers’ Association Player of the Year award for two consecutive seasons.
Dawson’s selection means England opted against recalling left-arm spinner Jack Leach, who holds a central contract and had been first-choice until Bashir displaced him last year. The selectors also overlooked Rehan Ahmed, Will Jacks, and Jacob Bethell for the Old Trafford Test, which begins on Wednesday on July 23.
Dawson recently returned to international cricket in the T20I series against the West Indies and had earlier told selectors not to consider him unless he was in the starting XI—a stand that contributed to his lengthy absence from Test squads. Notably, he played his debut Test match in Chennai against India in 2016 and scalped two batters (Ravindra Jadeja and Murali Vijay).
With Bashir sidelined and Dawson recalled, England will also monitor the fitness of Gus Atkinson (hamstring) and Josh Tongue as they finalise their bowling attack for the Manchester clash.
The series is finely poised, and Dawson’s experience could prove vital as England look to build on their Lord’s triumph and secure the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.
