Liam Dawson is more accurate and offered more challenge, says Nasser Hussain
On another see-saw day of Test cricket between both these teams, one aspect that stood out about Dawson was his control. In the previous three Tests, India batsmen have chosen to be aggressive against off-spinner Bashir who was ruled out of the series with a finger injury. And unlike the young spiner, the 35-year-old left-arm spinner Dawson bowled a bit quicker, giving less air time for the batsmen to step out. With his trajectory, he ensured batsmen mostly played from the crease as he used the rough outside the left-hander's off-stump to good effect.
Writing in The Daily Mail, Hussain was all praise for Dawson. 'On the first day at Old Trafford, when it's not spinning a lot, you need to offer your team and your captain that control so that he can rotate the seamers at the other end. Dawson did that beautifully. India's run rate dropped in the second session because of his control,' Hussain wrote of the second session in which India lost the wickets of KL Rahul, Jaiswal and Shumban Gill and scored 71 runs in 26 overs.
Compared to the tall Bashir who gets more turn and bounce, Dawson with his flat trajectory still managed to get good purchase of the Manchester strip, with Hussain mentioning what worked for him. 'He is more accurate and challenges the pad of the right hander, as well as the outside edge of the left hander from that rough and with the drift that he gets. We saw that with his wicket of Yashasvi Jaiswal. Because Dawson is landing it in the rough all the time, Jaiswal didn't know if it was going to spin or not, and his natural variation and drift meant he took the outside edge and it carried to Harry Brook at first slip,' Hussain wrote.
Given the start he has had to the Test series on return, Hussain says if Dawson ends up having a good outing, then it could push Bashir to the bench in the Ashes. 'If Dawson has two really good games against India, the debate will be about whether he should become England's No1 spinner and play against Australia. But that's for another time. He's had one good day and he's got one wicket – but he did his role and that's all you can ask of anyone you bring into your team,' he wrote.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
2 hours ago
- Indian Express
‘I would say he's one of the best players in the world': Moeen Ali showers praise on KL Rahul
While Indian captain Shubman Gill finished with a total of 754 runs with an average of 75.40 in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy and being the highest run scorer in the series, KL Rahul too had a memorable series. The 33-year-old scored 532 runs at an average of 53.20 including two centuries and two half-centuries in five Test matches in the series and was one of the pillars of Indian batting in the series. Former England all-rounder Moeen Ali has termed Rahul as 'one of the best players in the world'. Rahul, who had scored 205 runs in his last Test series in England, smashed his ninth Test hundred in the opening Test at Leeds before he scored his tenth test hundred in the third Test at Lords. The Lord's hundred also meant that Rahul became the first Indian opener and overall second batsman after Dilip Vengsarkar to score multiple Test centuries at Lord's. While Vengsarkar had scored three Test hundreds at Lord's, Rahul had scored his first Test hundred at Lords in 2021. Ali's former team-mate and spinner Rashid Khan too showed his praise on Rahul. 'He (KL Rahul) goes under the radar. Like this series, how he has batted, his tempo, his technique you know the art like you say how you speak of the art of batting in Test cricket. Going forward, going back, so there is a lot of that in it like it was really tight in defence but then half volleys he drove. That was his game in order. He looked very comfortable and his game was in order. And that's the first time you have probably seen that over a period of five games where he consistently looked right. This guy looks class. He looks really good in defence, in attack,' Khan said on the podcast. The five Test series also saw a number of records broken. The series saw a total of 7,187 runs scored, the second most highest aggregate runs in a Test series behind the tally of 7,221 runs scored in the 1993 Ashes series between England and Australia. The Indian team amassed 3,809 runs in the series and it was the second-most runs recorded by a team in a Test series. The series also saw 21 centuries being scored and Ali termed the series as a 'quality' series. 'It was one of those series where it was so good to watch and you had such good cricket like you had Shubman's batting, you had Kl's batting, you had Root's batting. It was quality from both sides like it was amazing batting from both sides. And then there were periods of time when the bowling was good. When I look back at this series, there were great partnerships in particular with regards to batters. Like Washington Sunday and Ravindra Jadeja amazingly well. There was loads of fight and a lot of character shown in this series,' said Ali.
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
'Grit on the field': Shikhar Dhawan's powerful message for Gautam Gambhir
Getty Images NEW DELHI: Former India opener Shikhar Dhawan has showered praise on Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir and his support staff following the team's spirited comeback to draw the Test series against England. Taking to his official X handle, Dhawan credited the remarkable turnaround to the behind-the-scenes efforts led by Gambhir and his team. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! "The grit on the field is backed by relentless hours off the field. Kudos to Gautam Gambhir and the entire support staff who've worked tirelessly to prepare this team. Your efforts reflected in the strong fightback we witnessed!" Dhawan posted. Under Gambhir's leadership, India staged a resilient comeback to level the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2-2, capping off the five-match series with a thrilling win in the final Test at The Oval. The series finale in London went down to the wire on the fifth day. England were just 35 runs away from chasing down a steep 374-run target, while India needed four wickets to seal the match and the series draw. Amid mounting pressure, Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna stepped up. As England's lower order battled on—with Chris Woakes nursing a broken shoulder—Gus Atkinson brought the equation down to just seven runs with one wicket in hand. But Siraj delivered the decisive blow, sneaking in a searing yorker that shattered Atkinson's off-stump and sealed a famous Indian win. A jubilant Siraj sprinted in celebration, unleashing his trademark 'Siu' as teammates rushed in to celebrate the dramatic finish. Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!
The Hindu
3 hours ago
- The Hindu
Training has been really intense and super beneficial: Peake
: Oliver Peake, only 18, is a precocious southpaw who's a bright prospect for the Australia Test and white-ball squads. Having won the U-19 World Cup last year, he travelled to Sri Lanka as a development player with the Test squad in January, scored a gritty 52 off 168 balls to bail out Victoria from five for two on a wickedly seaming WACA pitch under grey skies on his First-Class (FC) debut against Western Australia in the Sheffield Shield in March, hit an unbeaten 55 off 38 balls on his List-A debut and a 92 off 178 balls in only his second FC match for Australia-A versus Sri Lanka-A in July, and was named in the Australia-A FC squad touring India in September on Thursday. 'Tim Paine (Australia-A coach) actually told me that I was going to to India when I was playing against Sri Lanka-A. That was exciting when he said that,' he said here on Thursday. He's part of a 12-man Australia team currently training at the MRF Academy here. The team, having arrived on July 31, will fly back on August 12. 'I've picked up heaps of stuff in the last few days. The training has been really intense and super beneficial. I'm currently in the process of trying out different stuff — getting lower in my stance, different sweep shots (including reverse), defending more off the backfoot, and scoring off the backfoot a lot more. 'So, I'm just trying to sort of find ways to mitigate risk and score quickly when the conditions are really extreme. I'm trying to be really proactive on my feet to the best I can,' he said. Jason Sangha, who captained him versus Sri Lanka-A, has praised him as being 'emotionally mature' for an 18-year-old. Peake credited his father Clinton Peake, former Victoria and Australia u-19 captain, for his temperament. 'I think it's been trained along the journey. Like, I reckon that's probably my best skill in cricket — the mental skills. I think dad's been a massive help for that,' he said.
