Liam Dawson and Jofra Archer didn't hit the spot against India - and why a final Test rejig is needed for England, writes NASSER HUSSAIN

Daily Mail​

27-07-2025

England were forced to work exceptionally hard on a backbreaking pitch in Manchester but when Jofra Archer and Liam Dawson needed to come to the fore, they didn't quite do it.
After lunch on the fifth day, Archer didn't hit the top of off stump enough, and Dawson didn't hit the rough enough.
Ben Stokes had bowled so well in the morning, and his success, leaning away when bowling to right handers, was why he bowled such a long spell.
The reason he got the most out of the pitch from the Jimmy Anderson End was that he combined that lean away with aiming for where the cracks were and taking the ball onto the stumps from that angle.
Compared to his colleagues, he made it look like it was two different pitches, hitting the deck really hard, creating uneven bounce, which was a remarkable effort with his shoulder injury.
But the two left-handers Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja negated this as he had to bowl round the wicket and by the time he did so, he was also knackered and his shoulder was sore because he'd bowled such a long spell.
So it was then down to Jofra Archer, England's best bowler against left handers, but he didn't quite get it right in the afternoon session.
Which then meant Stokes turned to his other strong fifth day option - the left arm spin of Dawson.
For his first Test match back in eight years, he bowled okay, I just think he missed that rough quite a bit, and it was noticeable walking off at tea, that Stokes called Dawson over, almost showing him where it was.
Make no mistake. The reason there have been four out of four County Championship draws here at Old Trafford this summer is because for finger spinners there's not massive turn. Even Jadeja couldn't get it spitting.
Yes, Dawson was picked to have an impact at the end of the game, but it's not like it was in Chennai or Galle or Mumbai.
It was just offering a bit of turn, but because he doesn't quite have the drop of Shoaib Bashir, he can't quite get it up and down into that rough.
He's short, and as he collapses a little bit in his action, he couldn't quite get it full enough.
Stokes was leaving the gap, wanting the batsmen to drive so he could get them bowled through the gate.
He hit that area a few times and it spun a bit, and he could have gone a bit wider to the right handers, but I wouldn't over-judge him because it was his first game back and it wasn't like he was bowling on a spitting cobra of a pitch.
His dropped catch - one of three by England - would have hurt him, as it proved quite costly.
India captain Shubman Gill was on 46, and his dismissal on day four rather than Sunday would have made it a different contest.
England worked seriously hard for little reward and they obviously had some tired legs by the end.
Stokes has got another Test match in three days' time at The Oval and he can't keep putting himself through that.
If England had won here, I would have considered playing him as a specialist batter to continue his good form, or even tell him to have a blow, and get the shoulder sorted.
But as it's a live game he's obviously going to have to play now, perhaps as a batter who bowls a bit.
The final Test of the series has turned into a bit of a selection conundrum actually and I think it might require a bit of a rejig, with Josh Tongue and Gus Atkinson coming in for Brydon Carse and Chris Woakes, who left the field at the end feeling his calf.
Potentially you'd go for Jamie Overton as well, if Archer says he's not fit. The question is: can Archer go back to back? It's one only the individual can answer.
With all the injuries he's had it would be fully understandable if he said he wasn't able to play a third straight Test and I might take the decision out of his hands even if he said yes.