Liam Dawson set to break eight-year jinx in Tests as England name XI for Manchester Test against India

True to their norm the captain-coach duo of Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum, England have announced their playing XI for the fourth Test against India at Manchester with two days to go. The home side have made just one change, a forced one, from the side that eked out a thrilling 22-run win at Lord's.

 

All-rounder Liam Dawson, who was named as the replacement for the injured Shoaib Bashir in the squad, will also be the off spinner's replacement in the XI. The left-arm spinner last played a Test for England back in 2017 and had been unfortunate to not get a national call-up despite being a prolific performer in the county circuit. The 35-year-old has been the backbone of Hampshire's side across all three formats with his genuine all-round skills.

 

Dawson was also voted the Most Valuable Player in 2023 and 2024 for the County season due to his exploits but strangely, couldn't find a spot in England's Test squad. However, the selectors possibly had him on the radar all along, which explains the quick decision to add him to the squad as soon as it was evident that Bashir would miss the Old Trafford Test. Dawson's inclusion also means a big boost to England's batting depth, given that he is known to bat in the top-six for Hampshire. Dawson may not get that high a spot in this England XI but could find himself slotting in at eight, ahead of Chris Woakes.

 

Meanwhile, the selectors have decided to stick with Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope despite their underwhelming returns this series. Crawley in particular has looked extremely out of touch while Pope's stats have got some respectablity due to his flashy hundred at Headingley. However, both batters have looked increasingly shaky as the series has gone on but Stokes and McCullum have decided to give the duo a longer rope, especially as England are leading the series 2-1. It will be a tricky call, though, for the think tank should both batters continue to fail in the next two Tests, considering that a grueling Ashes tour in Australia is around the corner.

 

Jamie Smith has been the best English batter this series, both statistically and also in terms of being in control at the crease. He is also the only home batter to aggregate 400-plus runs, and one of the two (Harry Brook being the other) to go past 300 runs. Meanwhile, India has four batters with 300-plus runs with Shubman Gill (607) and Rishabh Pant (425) being the top-two run getters of the series across both teams.

 

The fourth Test between England and India kicks-off in Manchester from Wednesday (July 23).

England XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes(c), Jamie Smith (wk), Liam Dawson, Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer.

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