INDIA TOUR OF ENGLAND, 2025
Dawson picked the key wicket of Jaiswal on the opening day. © Getty
Liam Dawson’s last Test match was so long ago that he’d reconciled with the idea that a Test comeback was but a pipe dream. Yet, there he was, 2929 days later ticking his tally of wickets from seven to eight. It took him only seven balls on his comeback at Old Trafford to get the counter moving again as he found lovely drift away from the left-handed Yashasvi Jaiswal and drop to find the edge.
The 35-year-old Hampshire bowler came in as a replacement player in England’s squad after Shoaib Bashir suffered a finger injury at Lord’s. He returned a solid 1 for 45 from 15 overs of toil on the opening day in Manchester but admitted to having felt nervous as the idea of a ‘second debut’ drew closer. “Yeah, of course I was nervous. Obviously not [having] played for a number of years… but obviously nerves are a good thing and I think the older you get, the more you play, you sort of learn how to sort of manage those nerves,” Dawson said.
He admitted that he was a much better bowler now than he had been at the time of his debut in Chennai in December 2016. It helps that he’d evolved into a seasoned campaigner at Hampshire in the interim, taking 215 first-class wickets from 85 games at 27.72, a period that has seen him take 12 of his 15 five-fers in all. In fact, on this very ground last year, he took match figures of 10 for 99 and hit a first-innings 100 in a win over Lancashire. That achievement, of course, had slipped him by.
“You know what, I had completely forgotten about that [Lancashire game],” Dawson said. “Obviously it’s completely different you know the domestic cricket to this…But yeah, I knew what to expect sort of coming into it sort of for a second time so that I think that always sort of helps to understand what it’s going to be like but yeah, you know Test cricket’s hard, you know you’re going to have good days, you’re going to have bad days but I think the biggest thing for me, I sort of understood what to expect whereas obviously before I didn’t really. ”
Asked to put a finger on what has changed for him as a bowler in this period, Dawson said: “Probably [I’m] a little bit more consistent, understanding pitches a little bit better, sort of what players are looking to do sometimes and yeah I think the older you get you sort of learn how to manage sort of game scenarios.
“But yeah I’ve bowled a lot of overs the last few years and obviously when you bowl you sort of improve so yeah you’re still gonna have tough days but I do feel I’m a little bit, I’m a better bowler now than I was a few years ago.”
Dawson chose to remain understated about his first day back, despite the unexpected comeback after such a long time out. He asserted that it was still just one wicket but admitted that it was cool to be back involved and contribute. “It’s one wicket you know, I’ve done nothing you know special there, it’s one wicket but yeah, it’s obviously another big day tomorrow.
“Yeah it’s nice to obviously contribute to the team early on, I’ve said to a few people that you know they age them out, I probably thought Test cricket was gone but obviously to be back involved is really cool and I’ve got to try and enjoy each day that I get. I mean Test cricket is completely different to domestic cricket so yeah, to get that wicket was a nice relief sort of coming back into it but yeah, it’s obviously a big day tomorrow and hopefully get a couple more.”
© Cricbuzz
