Yashasvi Jaiswal stretched forward to defend a length ball from the left-arm spinner outside off stump. But the ball kissed the edge of his bat and flew straight to Harry Brook at first slip. As Brook completed the catch, Liam Dawson sprinted forward with arms in the air, celebrating with his teammates. After eight long years, Dawson was back in Test cricket—and he struck in just his seventh ball.
On the first day of the Old Trafford Test for the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, Dawson was introduced into the attack in the 39th over of India’s innings. He conceded five runs in his first over, but on the very first ball of his next, he broke Jaiswal’s resistance. The 35-year-old all-rounder dismissed the left-handed opener for 58 off 107 balls.
That wicket marked Dawson’s eighth in Test cricket. His seventh came 2,928 days ago, when he dismissed South Africa’s Hashim Amla in the Trent Bridge Test on July 16, 2017.
That match was Dawson’s third Test. Since then, he hasn’t had another opportunity in the longest format for England.
His comeback at Old Trafford came primarily due to Shoaib Bashir’s injury. The off-spinner suffered a finger injury in the previous Test at Lord’s, which ruled him out for the rest of the series. Dawson got his chance in the fourth Test as a replacement.
During the eight years he spent out of the national Test side, England played 102 Tests. Dawson now ranks seventh in the list of English players who went the most matches between two Tests. At the top is former England spinner Gareth Batty, who was out for 142 Tests.
Despite missing out on international selection, Dawson has consistently delivered in domestic cricket with both bat and ball. Since 2021, he has taken five wickets in an innings 12 times in first-class matches—three of those including 10-wicket hauls in a match.
Since 2023, playing for Hampshire, Dawson has taken 124 wickets and scored 956 runs at an average of 59.75. Over the past five seasons, he has hit nine centuries in first-class cricket—three each in 2023 and 2024 alone.
Last month, Dawson returned to England’s T20 squad after a three-year absence and made an immediate impact. He was named Player of the Match against West Indies after picking up 4 wickets for just 20 runs.
Now, with over 10,000 first-class runs and 371 wickets to his name, Dawson has marked his Test comeback in the best way possible.
