Liam Dawson replaces injured Shoaib Bashir in England squad for Manchester Test against India

Following their thrilling 22-run win over India in the third Test at Lord's, England have made a solitary change to their squad for the fourth game of the series in Manchester. 

 

Off-spinner Shoaib Bashir has a finger fracture from the injury he picked up during the third Test and has been ruled out for the Manchester contest. Subsequently, England have roped in bowling all-rounder Liam Dawson as replacement for the Manchester Test in what is technically a like-for-like replacement in the bowling department. However, Dawson with his greater batting pedigree will add a lot more depth to England's batting department and should slot in at no.8 ahead of Chris Woakes and Brydon Carse. 

 

Dawson has often been an unfortunate player in England's setup, having been a stellar domestic performer in the County setup over the years. Despite his all-round heroics for Hampshire across all formats, Dawson has only featured in 23 international games for England, of which the Test match count is just three. The 35-year-old's last Test appearance came eight years ago against South Africa at Trent Bridge. He has featured a lot more in limited-overs cricket, notably in T20Is where he appears to be a part of England's immediate plans. 

 

However, it is in the longest format that Dawson deserved most recognition, having tallied over 10000 runs in First-class cricket along with 371 wickets through his crafty left-arm spin. The surfaces at Manchester and The Oval are both likely to have some help for the spinners, which could mean rare successive Test caps for Dawson. Given the nature of Bashir's injury, he could be out of action for the fifth Test as well and Dawson will hope to cash in on the opportunity at Old Trafford, should he be in the playing XI.

 

National men's selector Luke Wright hailed Dawson's credentials as a seasoned all-rounder and admitted that the time was ripe to get the domestic veteran back in the mix.

 

"Liam Dawson deserves his call-up. He has been in outstanding form in the County Championship and consistently puts in strong performances for Hampshire." said Wright on the ECB's official website.

 

 

England squad for Manchester Test: Ben Stokes(c), Joe Root, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith, Liam Dawson, Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Gus Atkinson, Josh Tongue, Jofra Archer, Jacob Bethell

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