
Dawson gives England peek into parallel universe
There is a question of whether all wickets are equal. Six of Bashir's successes are via catches in the deep, another a stumping and another a caught and bowled off a miscue. At Lord's he had just produced his best bit of bowling, a dipper to draw the edge of KL Rahul, before he was injured. His most important act of the series, getting Mohammed Siraj to play on to seal England's 22-run win, was also his last.That moxie to still be involved despite his injury is one of the reasons why England like Bashir. They value his temperament and willingness to get into the battle. Stokes' side should get more of the same from Dawson.It is some comeback from Dawson, who as recently as April admitted his international career was over.England ignored his superb domestic record for three years before a recall to play in the T20s against West Indies in May. It says much that Brendon McCullum's first look at Dawson has resulted in a recall to the Test side. There are two centrally contracted Test spinners on England's books, but Rehan Ahmed has been carrying an injury and Jack Leach's international career now looks over.Eleven other men have been chosen to bowl spin for England in 102 Tests since Dawson last played against South Africa in 2017. Though Stokes said he expects Dawson to be nervous, he is also likely to be dependable.Bowling his left-armers round the wicket, he will target the stumps more than Bashir and, according to CricViz, generally gets more drift through the air. There is the question of whether Dawson would be the man to bowl England to victory on a worn final-day pitch, but Bashir is yet to do that is his short Test career.Dawson's presence at number eight, pushing Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse and Jofra Archer down to nine, 10 and 11 respectively, essentially means England do not have a tail.Quite what Dawson would have do to become England's first-choice spinner is unknown, still this is an unexpected second life in Test cricket, with the opportunity to win a series against India and book a ticket to the Ashes series that follows. He could not have done more to deserve it.
Given his experience, Dawson will not be rattled by the tetchiness that began at Lord's and has carried to Old Trafford.The evolution of England's mindset has become a fascinating subplot to the summer. What started with McCullum and Stokes asking for "humility" before the Zimbabwe Test turned into McCullum saying they are "too nice" before the third Test against India. In the background is legendary All Blacks mental skills coach Gilbert Enoka.England will certainly need the harder edge they found at Lord's in Australia this winter. Stokes said they will not go looking for confrontation on the field, though it may find them, given India skipper Shubman Gill's pre-match comments about the "spirit of cricket" on Tuesday.Gill is a young captain, leading a new-look team. He waited more than a week to get his thoughts about Lord's off his chest and may now be reminded of them by thousands of raucous Mancunians in the almost-permanent temporary stand at Old Trafford.England are settled, India have injury issues to address. Nitish Kumar Reddy and Akash Deep are out, seamer Anshul Kamboj looks set to go from not even being in the squad to a Test debut.Pant has recovered from his finger injury and will keep wicket, while Jasprit Bumrah will surely be unleashed once more to keep the series alive.In order to force a decider at The Oval, India will have to win at Old Trafford for the first time, something they managed at Edgbaston in the second Test. The last Indian to make a Test century in this city was a 17-year-old Sachin Tendulkar's maiden ton 35 years ago.England, on the other hand, have a formidable record here, with only one defeat since 2001. There is a little bit of making up to do after the Old Trafford rain washed out any hopes of an Ashes victory two years ago. Despite showers on Monday and Tuesday, the forecast looks good enough for the five days of the Test.Nine days on from the Lord's classic, these teams go at it again, serving up the latest chapter in one of the most compelling five-Test series in this country since the 2005 Ashes, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this week.More Gill, more Stokes. More Bumrah, more Archer. More Pant sommersaults, more Harry Brook handstands. More ball changes, more time-wasting. No Bashir, finally more Dawson. More needle?Welcome to Manchester.
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Daily Mail
30 minutes ago
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How Ben Stokes should prepare for the Oval Test and my pick from each team in a dream XI: BUMBLE AT THE TEST
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Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Ben Stokes sees his pain as a friend not a foe after channeling late father's spirit to deliver brave, bicep-straining spell in gripping fourth Test
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'I thought to myself, "I don't really want to come off for a dislocated finger",' he said later, 'so I put it back in myself — and broke it. I spent the year playing in England with it strapped up. When I came back, I had to get my knee cartilage trimmed, so I got my finger off at the same time.' Ged later accepted that spending a season in England with a finger permanently pointing straight ahead was cumbersome'. The England captain paid an affectionate tribute to his dad when he reached his century here on Saturday, looking to the sky and folding his middle finger under his palm to imitate the effect of his father's amputated digit. It has been his favoured celebration since before Ged passed away in 2020. But he pays tribute to his father every time he plays because of the manner in which he plays, because of the courage with which he plays, because of the way that his first thought is for the team not for individual successes or, indeed, his own wellbeing. Only Stokes, only an injured Stokes, ever looked like denying India a famous draw. He bowled his heart out for eight overs in succession in his morning spell, sacrificing himself with the old ball to keep his strike bowlers fresh for the new ball, which was due 17 overs into the day. From Stokes's first over, when Shubman Gill survived a loud appeal for lbw, and played and missed twice, the England captain, who is this series' leading wicket taker, looked like the most dangerous component of the attack. Stokes nearly claimed Gill's wicket in his second over when the India captain lofted a shot to extra cover. Ollie Pope leapt to try to catch it and got both hands to it at the top of his leap but the ball was just too high and it spilled from his fingers. 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Gill leapt away from the crease, shaking his hand. The Indians were not strangers to pain in this Test, either. Rishabh Pant batted with a broken foot earlier in the match. Stokes bowled on. The drinks break came and went and he resumed from the Sir James Anderson End. Some worried that it was madness, that he might be risking the kind of injury that would stop him travelling to Australia for the Ashes this winter and appearing at the Oval for the fifth Test this week. But Stokes does not think like that. 'The likelihood of me not appearing at the Oval is very unlikely,' he said after the game. Pain is just another adversary to be conquered. He only yielded when the new ball was due, his job and his duty done. 'How are you feeling physically?' Stokes was asked after the match. 'Been better,' he said with a grin. 'I said a few times to the guys out there, "Pain is just an emotion".'


Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
India's Pant to miss fifth test against England with fractured foot
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