
Liam Dawson Returns To Test Cricket After 8 Years: Will He Be England's Trump Card Against India?
Experience and Depth in Lower Order
Dawson's inclusion strengthens not only England's spin department with his left-arm orthodox bowling but also adds valuable runs to the lower order. The 34-year-old boasts an impressive first-class record, including 18 centuries and a batting average of 35.29 notably higher than current opener Zak Crawley.
Dawson's International Career Comes Full Circle
Once a part of England's victorious 2019 World Cup squad, Dawson's international career appeared to have ended after sporadic white-ball appearances in 2022. At the start of this summer, Dawson candidly admitted he was 'realistic' about his chances of playing for England again. However, his surprise recall for the T20I series against West Indies in May reignited hopes and now, he finds himself back in the Test team.
Leaps Over Leach for Test Spot
In an unexpected selection twist, Dawson has leapfrogged fellow left-arm spinner Jack Leach, who has been part of recent England squads and holds a central contract. Dawson's wealth of experience and recent form have earned him the nod from the selectors.
Praise From Teammates
Teammate Harry Brook praised Dawson's character and contribution: 'He brings experience and guile. He's very skilful and a great bloke. He was nervous before his T20 comeback, and I'm sure he'll be nervous again this week but his experience and skills will guide him.'
England XI for 4th Test vs India
England's lineup for the fourth Test includes:
Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith (wk), Liam Dawson, Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer.
England Lead Series 2-1 vs India
England currently hold a 2-1 lead in the five-match Test series against India. The hosts secured victories in the first Test at Leeds and the third Test at Lord's, while India fought back with a win in the second match at Edgbaston.

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Hindustan Times
2 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Soccer-Marc Brys denies he has quit as Cameroon coach
By Amindeh Blaise Atabong HT Image YAOUNDE (Reuters) -Marc Brys has denied he has quit as coach of Cameroon despite the country's football federation confirming his exit on Wednesday, as the Belgian said his email was likely hacked and his alleged resignation letter did not come from him. It is the latest twist in a long-running battle between Brys and the Cameroon Football Federation (FECAFOOT) since his appointment by the country's sports ministry in April 2024. A letter dated July 21, supposedly from Brys to the sports ministry and FECAFOOT, said he had made the decision to terminate his contract "due to the non-payment of my remuneration and that of my staff for more than 60 days." When the letter came into the public domain on Wednesday, FECAFOOT said in a statement they had noted the resignation and would "implement a coordinated response to mitigate the impact of this vacancy at the head of the national team's technical staff." However, Brys later said in a letter to the sports ministry that his email had likely been hacked, and that he had not resigned. Cameroon's sports ministry confirmed that Brys remained in his role. FECAFOOT has not responded to the coach's denial. It comes five months before the Africa Cup of Nations finals in Morocco and with Cameroon's qualification for the 2026 World Cup undecided. Brys has had a testy relationship with FECAFOOT president Samuel Eto'o since taking the job last year, but his position is funded by the Ministry of Sports and Physical Education. Cameroon have been drawn in a group with defending champions Ivory Coast, Gabon and Mozambique at the December 21-January 18 finals of the AFCON. They are currently second in their qualifying pool for next year's World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada, a point behind Cape Verde with four rounds remaining. Only the top team automatically earns their place at the finals, with Cameroon set for a crunch tie away against Cape Verde in September. The qualification campaign will conclude in October. (Writing by Nick SaidEditing by Christian Radnedge and Toby Davis)
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First Post
3 hours ago
- First Post
India insert healthy dollop of chaos on throwback day of Test cricket at Old Trafford
For such a traditional day of Test cricket, and one in which India did well to put up stiff resistance to a much improved England bowling performance, the tourists still managed to insert a healthy dollop of chaos into their proceedings. read more Rishabh Pant was batting on 37 when he was struck on the foot by an inside edge off a Chris Woakes yorker on Day 1 of the fourth Test against England in Manchester. Reuters It was something of a throwback day of Test cricket at Old Trafford on Wednesday, – given the swashbuckling seen on these shores in recent seasons, what once would have been very much the norm now seemed positively retro. A fitting time then for Liam Dawson to make his return to the Test arena, eight years and five days, or 102 matches if you prefer, since he last did so. The last time Dawson donned the whites for England Robert Mugabe was still in power, the Nintendo Switch had only just been released, the world and English cricket looked very different indeed. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD As selections go, Dawson is something of a throwback himself, not so much a Bazballian pick based on high-release points and future potential, rather one founded on a long and consistent county career and the skills and nous accumulated from it. More from First Cricket Rishabh Pant leaves field in an ambulance after getting seriously hurt by Woakes yorker at Old Trafford; see video Getting Jaiswal a useful bonus on Test comeback for Dawson The opening act of his comeback story was successful if low-key, showing the crucial day one ability to tie down an end, while also winkling out the dangerous Yashasvi Jaiswal as a more than useful bonus. Well worth the wait, Daws! 🙌 Jaiswal caught by Brook off Dawson 🤲 🇮🇳 1⃣2⃣0⃣-2⃣ — England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 23, 2025 Speaking after the close of play Dawson was realistic and largely just seemed happy to be back: 'It was nice to contribute to the team early on,' he said. 'I've said to a few people that the age I'm at, I thought Test cricket was gone. To be back involved is really cool and I've got to try and enjoy each day that I get. 'Test cricket is completely different to domestic cricket so to get that wicket was a nice relief coming back into it. It's a big day tomorrow, hopefully I'll get a couple more. It's one wicket, I've done nothing special. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'I knew what to expect coming into it for a second time so that helped to understand what it's going to be like. But Test cricket is hard, you'll have good and bad days. The biggest thing for me is I understood what to expect whereas before, I didn't really.' Questionable Indian selection and Pant's injury For such a traditional day of Test cricket, and one in which India did well to put up stiff resistance to a much improved England bowling performance, the tourists still managed to insert a healthy dollop of chaos into their proceedings. While injuries were largely to blame this time around, the team selection remains something of a piece of performance art for India in this series, three changes made once again. Nitish Kumar Reddy and Akash Deep's withdrawals may have been unavoidable, but the reintroduction of Shardul Thakur to the series raised a few eyebrows, and the return of Sai Sudharsan just two Tests after he was unceremoniously dropped – having made his debut in that match – smacked of a fickleness usually best kept well away from any selectorial business. However the far greater spanner into the Indian works came in the evening session, Rishabh Pant rather reaping what he sowed attempting a shot straight out of his own bizarro textbook. Pant opted to reverse-sweep the fourth ball of the 68th over, but only succeeded in – England reviewed but the inside edge spared him the ignominy of the LBW. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD India's Rishabh Pant was driven off the ground as he retired hurt on 37 on Day 1 of the fourth Test at Old Trafford. AP Ultimately though it was something of a pyrrhic victory for Pant, who instantly retired hurt and is now in the words of teammate Sudharsan 'unlikely' to play much further part in the match – . It was the only real standout event in an otherwise fairly ordinary day, but one which could have serious consequences for Indian hopes in the remainder of this series.


The Hindu
3 hours ago
- The Hindu
Stokes — raw, real and relentless
The universe sometimes conspires — almost magically — to bless a few individuals with the power not only to write their scripts, but to live them out on the grandest stages of life. Act I: T20 World Cup final, Eden Gardens, Kolkata, 2016 The tension was palpable. West Indies needed 19 runs off the final over. It was advantage England, as things stood. Marlon Samuels — calm, ice-cool and unbeaten on 85 — was stranded at the non-striker's end. The moment was ripe — not for Samuels, not for West Indies — but for a young 24-year-old Englishman full of fire and fight. Ben Stokes had the ball. History was in the making. But in his, and England's, way stood a player and a performance immortalised by Ian Bishop's iconic scream: 'Carrrrrlos Brathwaite! Carrrrrlos Brathwaite — remember the name!' Four sixes on the trot, each sailing into the night sky and then swallowed by the crowd, stunned Stokes and his teammates into shock. Brathwaite had pulled off the unthinkable and handed the Windies a cherished world title. Stokes crumbled; his face sank into the palm of his hands. He dropped to the floor, hollowed out by heartbreak. As one name and performance entered the annals of history, another – Stokes – was buried under the weight of an opportunity gone tragically wrong. A man, who could have been a national hero, was made the villain. 'I said to myself, 'I've lost the World Cup.' I couldn't believe it. I didn't know what to do. It took me so long to get back on my feet. I didn't want to get back up. It was like the whole world had come down on me,' Stokes, always one to candidly dissect emotions, would later admit. 'There weren't any good things going through my mind. It was just complete devastation. After the first six, I thought, 'Oh God,' but I was backing myself. I had been in that type of situation for four weeks in all my training, so it was not a case of holding anything back and thinking, 'I hope I get this one in' because I knew I could do it.' But destiny is often cruel. 'I haven't watched it back yet because I don't want to bring myself to do that at this stage,' he said later. 'I don't know how much I missed it, but as a bowler, you have a feeling as soon as you let go whether or not you've got the yorker right — and it felt like I had. 'Some days they go well. Some days they don't. That was a horrible day, but I won't be shying away from it. You almost want it to happen… because if you nail it, everyone forgets the final.' But no one forgot. Not then. Not even now. After the gutting group-stage exit in the 2015 ODI World Cup, the T20 final loss was akin to rubbing salt on one's raw wounds. It was rock bottom, sure, but as it turns out, it was not the end. Act II: Rock Bottom to Rock Star 'You've got to lose to know how to win…' — Aerosmith famously crooned in their 1973 classic 'Dream On'. Stokes held that loss at the Eden close to his heart. The itch of that adamant scar dragged him back to the drawing board. Only this time, it wasn't just blind hard work; he trained smarter. It dawned on him that technique wasn't the only area of work: far more important were temperament and mindset. Stokes needed to find a way to give direction to the fire that burned within. He needed to find purpose. And where better to find that than at home! His father, Gerard, was a tough, no-nonsense rugby player-turned-coach. His mother, Deborah, who introduced him to cricket as a young boy, worked as a counsellor for victims of violent crime. Growing up, young Benjamin excelled at both sports. 'In a room full of people, you'd spot a Stokes straight away,' the all-rounder once said. 'The sense of humour is the same. We take the mickey out of each other constantly. My brother's a grouch around people — he just grunts. That competitiveness, the frustration, the inside build-up of anger — that's from my old man. I've definitely got that in me,' the Christchurch-born English all-rounder said. Gerard wasn't one for excuses. For years, he told his son he'd lost a finger to a crocodile. The truth, when it came out, was equally striking: 'He kept dislocating the same finger,' Stokes recalled. 'The doctor said he needed surgery. But Dad couldn't afford to miss games — he had bills to pay. So he just got it cut off.' That missing finger would eventually be his son's iconic celebration. But it was in that kind of environment — relentless, raw, real — that Ben Stokes was shaped. 'If I didn't do well, I'd beat myself up,' he remembered. 'Especially when I was younger. I'd just get angry. I'm not someone who hates people for beating me. But I. Just. Don't. Like. Losing'. But somewhere along the way, something shifted. From pain came a hard-earned truth: stop chasing moments…become them. While others shrank in the wake of chaos, Stokes always found himself drawn to it. Take the 2019 ODI World Cup, for example. Once again, a final – this time at Lord's – and a final over, except this time he was the one batting. Fifteen runs were needed for a famous win against New Zealand. History stared him down once more, but this time, Stokes didn't blink. Stokes would drop to his knees once more, but this time after willing his team across the finish line, in a Super Over no less. He took the weight of a nation and turned it into poetry. Act III: Immortality in Leeds If Lord's was redemption, Headingley was a step above. With the Ashes slipping away, England — chasing 359 — collapsed to 286 for nine. With 73 runs still needed and just one wicket in hand against an Australian attack baying for blood, it seemed foolish to hope. Alone but determined, Stokes motored on. He reverse-swept Nathan Lyon into the stands and switch-hit Pat Cummins for maximums. He smashed boundaries, all with tailender Jack Leach as his shadow. For all his heroics, Stokes was but human. When he trudged unwillingly to the non-striker's end, he was rendered unable to watch Leach's desperate attempts to survive. The pair kept the game alive. Stokes was handed the relief of a missed run out and an erroneous not out decision on an LBW appeal (Australia couldn't turn to DRS, having exhausted its reviews). Two runs were needed for a largely unlikely English win when Cummins resumed with the ball. Leach blocked before running a single and bringing Stokes back on strike. He wasted no time, creaming a length delivery through covers to seal a miraculous win. Arms spread wide, Stokes – who finished with an unbeaten 135 – roared. Headingley erupted in unison. The famous Western Terrace stands went into a frenzy. 'It was beyond greatness,' said former England captain Nasser Hussain. 'It was something else. Something beyond cricket.' 359 was chased, the Ashes remained alive, and the game got a masterclass on the power of belief. Final act: Leading from the front In 2022, when Stokes was handed the reins of the England Test team, the side was adrift. One win in 17 outings didn't inspire any confidence. Spirits were low. The team's brand of cricket was unclear. England had lost its soul. Early on in his partnership with coach Brendon McCullum, it was evident the duo were cut from the same cloth: bold, unafraid, instinctive. Together, they didn't just rebuild a team; they redefined it. They exorcised passivity from England's character. No more playing for the draw. No more waiting for the game to come to them. Stokes and McCullum lit a fire and gave it a new name: Bazball. Its evangelists were keen to underline that this style of cricket was not about reckless bravado, but about freedom. And at the heart of it was a liberated Stokes. The 2023 series had a not-so-glamorous 2-2 score on paper. But those who watched every ball know that this series housed some of the most riveting contests the red ball game has ever seen. At Lord's, when tensions flared after the controversial stumping of Jonny Bairstow, it was Stokes who walked the tightrope between rage and grace. His counter-attacking 155 nearly pulled off the impossible. Belief is a Ben Stokes staple. The most recent proof of concept coming from England's recent triumph over India at Lord's in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. With India matching England blow for blow with bat and ball, Stokes effected a game-changing run out of Rishabh Pant in India's first innings — an athletic pinpoint throw after bowling five overs of short-pitched darters under intense heat. Not only was a threatening partnership broken, but that run out galvanised the crowd to get behind the home boys. Stokes, the bowler, has been exceptional all through this series, but more so at Lord's. He struck twice in the first innings, however, it was his performance later in the match that defined the contest. He bowled himself for 24 overs on the trot, at speeds exceeding 137 kmph, removing K.L. Rahul, Jasprit Bumrah, and nightwatchman Akash Deep in a pivotal session on the penultimate day. His sustained 9.2-over burst on the final morning laid the foundation for England's eventual victory. As a leader, his composure and tactical might took centrestage whenever tempers ran high. Sharp catching positions, attacking bowling changes and faith in their short-ball strategy to dismantle the lower order paid rich dividends. He managed 44 and 33 in testing conditions and against menacing opponents like Bumrah, anchoring England's lower-order resistance. The home side won by a narrow 22 runs, proving his shifts invaluable in the end. That triumph gave England 2-1 lead in the series, reaffirming Stokes' own status as the pulse of the red-ball setup. Bazball is an easy concept to bash because of its volatility. But its champions remain unfazed. What Stokes and McCullum have built is more than a team. It's a culture. They've made Test cricket thrilling again. Not because they win every time, but because they aren't afraid to lose. And that, oddly, is what makes them win more. Stokes' redemption is more about persistence than perfection. His ascendancy was anything but smooth — in fact, the first chapter of his career had more infamy than glory. The 2016 T20 World Cup final cast a long, painful shadow. The 2017 nightclub brawl in Bristol led to an arrest, a trial, and a suspension. He lost the England vice-captaincy and missed the 2017-18 Ashes. It takes something special to resist spiralling and emerge transformed in spirit. Stokes didn't just have to reclaim his place in the team — he had to earn back the trust of a dressing room, and a nation. Turns out, he's done that and in some style. Some players create history. But once in a generation, one becomes it. Benjamin Andrew Stokes — Remember the Name!