Dawson To Play First England Test In Eight Years

Spinner Liam Dawson will play his first Test successful 8 years aft being named successful nan England squad to look India astatine Old Trafford connected Wednesday.

Left-armer Dawson, 35, returns arsenic nan replacement for off-spinner Shoaib Bashir, who suffered a surgery digit successful nan thrilling third-Test triumph astatine Lord's.

Pace bowler Chris Woakes keeps his place, holding disconnected nan situation of Gus Atkinson.

England are 2-1 up and will triumph nan bid if they return nan 4th Test successful Manchester. They person not won a five-Test bid since 2018.

Hampshire's Dawson will triumph his 4th Test cap, his 3rd coming against South Africa successful July 2017.

England person played 102 Tests since Dawson past appeared. Only six different players successful history person gone much Tests betwixt caps.

While Dawson will supply reliable slow left-arm, he besides boosts England's lower-order batting. He owns 18 first-class hundreds and his mean of 35.29 outstrips opener Zak Crawley.

Part of nan squad that won nan 2019 World Cup, his world profession appeared to beryllium over. After fleeting appearances successful white-ball cricket successful 2022, he went much than 3 years without different call-up.

At nan opening of this summer, he said he was "realistic" astir his England prospects, only to person a callback for nan T20 bid against West Indies successful May.

He now gets his chance successful nan Test side, leap-frogging chap left-armer Jack Leach, who was portion of England's squads during nan wintertime and has a cardinal contract.

"He brings acquisition and guile," batter Harry Brook told BBC Sport. "He's very skilful.

"He's been astir nan block, played hundreds of games and he's a awesome bloke. He's very competitory and he's a very bully player.

"He was very tense earlier his T20 comeback and I'm judge he'll beryllium tense this week. I'm judge he'll fto his acquisition and skills return over."

Woakes has struggled to make an effect successful nan first 3 Tests, though did person his astir successful lucifer astatine Lord's, taking 4 wickets.

He gets nan motion complete Atkinson partially because of his grounds connected this ground. The 36-year-old averages almost 37 pinch nan bat and 17 pinch nan shot successful Manchester.

Atkinson was put done a fittingness trial astatine Old Trafford connected Monday. He has not played professionally since injuring his hamstring successful nan one-off Test against Zimbabwe successful May.

He was deemed fresh capable to make a Test comeback if required, but fixed nan different options successful nan squad and nan truth Atkinson has played only 1 time of nine cricket successful 2 months, location was nary request for England to return a risk.

England will now activity games aliases him to play elsewhere, yet he is not successful nan Surrey squad to play Yorkshire successful nan County Championship, opening connected Tuesday.

India will make astatine slightest 1 alteration to nan broadside beaten astatine Lord's, aft all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy was ruled retired of nan remainder of nan bid pinch a knee injury.

Wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant batted successful nan nets connected Monday and looks to person recovered from nan digit wounded that hampered him successful nan 3rd Test.

There is yet nary determination connected Jasprit Bumrah. The prima gait bowler was group to play only 3 of nan 5 Tests and has truthful acold featured successful two.

Following a week of remainder betwixt nan 3rd and 4th Tests, nan visitors must surely beryllium tempted to unleash Bumrah successful bid to support nan bid alive.

India person ne'er not won immoderate of nan 9 Tests they person played successful Manchester, making love backmost to 1936.

England person mislaid only 2 of nan 20 Tests they person played connected this crushed this century.