With two days remaining, England has revealed its playing XI for the fourth Test match against India at Manchester, headed by captain-coach Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum as usual. From the team that managed to squeeze out an exciting 22-run victory at Lord’s, the home team has only made one, and that was a forced one.
The off spinner’s substitute in the starting lineup will be all-rounder Liam Dawson, who was selected to replace the injured Shoaib Bashir in the squad. Despite being a prolific player in the county circuit, the left-arm spinner was unlucky to not receive a national call-up. He last played a Test match for England in 2017. With his true all-around abilities, the 35-year-old has been Hampshire’s mainstay in all three formats.
Due to his accomplishments, Dawson was also chosen as the County season’s Most Valuable Player in 2023 and 2024, but oddly, he was unable to secure a berth in England’s Test team. But the decision to include him in the squad as soon as it became clear that Bashir would miss the Old Trafford Test may have been made because the selectors may have had him on their radar all along. Considering that Dawson is known to bat in the top six for Hampshire, his inclusion also significantly increases England’s batting depth. Dawson might not have a very prominent place in this England XI, but he might end up starting at number eight, ahead of Chris Woakes.
Despite their lacklustre comebacks this series, the selectors have chosen to continue with Ollie Pope and Zak Crawley. Pope’s statistics have gained some respectability because of his spectacular hundred at Headingley, but Crawley in particular has appeared to be incredibly out of touch. Although both batters have appeared more unsteady as the series has progressed, Stokes and McCullum have made the decision to give them more time, particularly because England is now leading the series 2-1. However, with a demanding Ashes tour in Australia coming up, it will be a difficult decision for the think tank if both batsmen continue to struggle in the upcoming two Test matches.
According to statistics and his ability to maintain control at the crease, Jamie Smith has been the best English hitter this series. In addition, he is one of only two home batters (the other being Harry Brook) to reach 300 runs and the only one to reach 400 or more. The top two run scorers in the series for both teams are Shubman Gill (607) and Rishabh Pant (425), while India has four batsmen with 300 runs or more.
On Wednesday, July 23, the fourth Test match between India and England begins in Manchester.
Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Liam Dawson, Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, and Zak Crawley make up the England XI.
