At the start of the year, some might have believed that Liam Dawson, the spinning all-rounder, is close to calling goodbye to international cricket. Dawson was just three months short of his 35th birthday, and it seemed as if the England set-up were looking for other options in the spin department. But just six months into the year, the narrative surrounding Dawson has changed dramatically. He made a return to England’s T20I side, alongside being picked as a replacement for the injured Shoaib Bashir ahead of the fourth Test in Manchester.
Just spool back in time to 2023 and you might start to wonder – How did Dawson chart his way back into the Test set-up? At that stage of his career, with the series in India around the corner, Dawson had indicated in an interview that it wouldn’t exactly be a straightforward decision to choose between a recall to the Test side and partaking in franchise cricket. As it happened, England opted to select a couple of rookies over Dawson – Tom Hartley and Bashir. According to Dawson, the England management didn’t check on his availability for that tour.
Just excavate a little more information on Dawson’s career, and you will discover that the spinning all-rounder was then at the peak of his prowess. He ended up taking an impressive haul of 49 wickets at an average of 20 for Hampshire during the 2023 County Championship. Moreover, Dawson was also the third highest run-getter for his side with 840 runs.
In comparison to the 2023 season, Dawson hasn’t been at his very best with the ball this year: He has bagged 21 wickets at an average of just over 40 in Division 1 of the County Championship. Although he continues to be one of the mainstays of the batting unit, having accumulated 536 runs at a noteworthy average of 44.66.
So, that is a summary of Dawson’s first-class record. But what are his key strengths? What is Dawson’s bowling template? Basically, the salient feature of his bowling is control. With years of experience, Dawson has developed a repeatable action, and he can put the ball in the right areas over long spells.
To understand more about Dawson’s bowling, just scroll through the Hampshire-Lancashire game from last season. Dawson, who picked up a 10-for in that match, showed his versatility by taking the wickets of left-hand batters in the second innings.
The keynote to his bowling in that innings was how he seemed to go slightly wider of the crease while bowling from over the wicket in order to zoom the ball on the rough patches outside the off-stump of left-handers. The likes of Luke Wells, Venkatesh Iyer, Hartley and co. were all done in by his ability to slow it up in the air and consistently hit the few rough patches. Dawson also has a deceptive arm ball. Even in that County game, he gave a demonstration of it by dismissing Josh Bohannon with the armer in the second essay.
Liam Dawson, who has represented England in three Tests, will never be rated among the pantheon of greats. But with 10,731 runs and 371 wickets to his name in first-class cricket, he brings a wealth of experience to the England camp. Moreover, he is also renowned for his fielding skills. A three-dimensional player, who could make a difference to the outcome of a game.
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