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2929 Days since Liam Dawson’s last Test over
It was bound to happen at some point, and perhaps there was no better time than just before drinks with a 38-over old ball, even if this is only day one. But Liam Dawson is back bowling in Test cricket for the first time in over eight years… and he has responded with a wicket from his seventh delivery!
The left-arm spinner’s re-selection following Shoaib Bashir’s injury in the previous Test was more than deserved, and overdue. As articulated here, it is an about-turn from England’s previous approach to selection, particularly when it comes to spinners.
His first over was tidy enough, going for just five. Operating from over the wicket to the left-handers from the James Anderson End, the main delivery of note was his third, which skewed beyond slip off the thick outside half of Yashasvi Jaiswal’s bat, running away down to third for a couple. It was a sign of things to come.
Starting his second after the drinks break, he landed one on a length, drawing Jaiswal forward, who was left for dead by one that does not turn, snaring the edge through to Harry Brook at first slip. Dawson charged off towards point, punching the air in glee.
It’s a huge wicket for England, with Jaiswal’s dogged innings capped at 58, and an even bigger one for Dawson.
B Sai Sudharsan has a chat with batting coach Sitanshu Kotak•PTI
Karthik Krishnaswamy has observed Sai Sudharsan’s old-school technique, and in particular, the fact that his bat is down as the bowler reaches the crease. He suggests that has contributed to his head being outside the line for straighter balls, which was a vulnerability that England exposed in the first Test at Headingley, twice having him caught down the leg side.
That provides a good opportunity to plug this Cricket Monthly piece from 2015, in which Mike Hussey talks about the success he had after changing to a “bat-up” technique in the early 2000s.
Daniel Gidney, Farokh Engineer, Clive Lloyd and Andy Anson pose in front of the newly-renamed stand•Lancashire Cricket
Lancashire have renamed the old ‘B Stand’ this morning to mark the contributions of two club legends in Clive Lloyd and Farokh Engineer, who were both at Emirates Old Trafford to mark the occasion.
Andy Anson, Lancashire’s chair, said: “We are constantly looking for ways to better honour and celebrate our past, and we felt it was more than fitting for both Sir Clive and Farokh to have a stand at Emirates Old Trafford bearing their names.
“Both players were my cricketing heroes when I was growing up watching the Club, and I vividly remember that they both played during my first visit to Old Trafford in 1971. I have incredibly fond memories of Sir Clive and Farokh as key parts of a hugely successful Lancashire side, particularly in the 1970s.
“I hope that this unveiling, ahead of a major Test Match against India, provides both individuals with a memorable moment of recognition – one that their dedication and service to the Red Rose fully deserves.”
Yashasvi Jaiswal drives down the ground•Getty Images
KL Rahul falls for 46 and will be so frustrated with this dismissal after the pressure he has soaked up this morning. He has played very late, scoring only a single run in the ‘V’ down the ground, but is trying to push this back-of-a-length ball through mid-off and edges to Crawley at third slip. He was squared up a touch, and Ricky Ponting on Sky commentary suggests there might have been a hint of edge bounce, too. Woakes celebrates, and England are on the board.
KL Rahul started well again•AFP/Getty Images
Shiva Jayaraman: KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal are the first overseas opening pair to go unbeaten to lunch on Day 1 in a Test in England with at least 20 overs of play in the session in the last ten years.
The previous such pair was Chris Rogers and David Warner at the Oval Test in 2015. Also, only two England pairs have managed that in the last ten years – Rory Burns and Dom Sibley (vs New Zealand at Edgbaston in 2021) and Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett (vs Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge this summer).
Lancashire have released a statement on the slow-moving queues that many fans experienced on their way to Emirates Old Trafford this morning.
“We are aware that some supporters experienced queues getting into Emirates Old Trafford this morning, which we apologise for. We saw nearly 9,000 supporters arrive at the ground very late despite encouraging early arrival, with all bags subject to searches on entry.
“The Club will be looking at increasing the number of gates for the rest of the Test Match. We strongly encourage ticket buyers to only bring bags if required, and if doing so to arrive as early as possible. Gates will be open at 9am for the rest of the game.”
Yashasvi Jaiswal ramps a short ball•Getty Images
Lunch – India 78 for 0 (Rahul 40, Jaiswal 36) vs England
KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal batted through the morning unscathed in Manchester to provide supporting evidence to Shubman Gill’s belief that this was “a good toss to lose”.
Ben Stokes asked India to bat first after winning his fourth consecutive toss of the series, citing the gloomy overhead conditions, but his seamers failed to make inroads. Jaiswal rode his luck early on, with Chris Woakes repeatedly beating him on the outside edge, but there were no genuine chances in the first two hours of the match.
Rahul continued his impressive form, going past 400 runs in the series and becoming the fifth Indian batter to score 1,000 Test runs in England. He played the ball as late as possible and was happy to play senior partner: after Jofra Archer dismissed Jaiswal in both innings at Lord’s, Rahul soaked up 25 balls in Archer’s initial five-over spell.
KL Rahul cuts for four•Getty Images
Jaiswal – who had to replace a broken bat early in the session – largely played within himself, prompting Alastair Cook to suggest on the BBC’s Test Match Special that he must have been reminded of his responsibilities by India coach Gautam Gambhir between Tests. But he did hit the only six of the morning shortly before lunch, throwing his hands at a back-cut when Stokes dropped short and wide.
No team has ever chosen to bowl first at Emirates Old Trafford and gone on to win a Test match, and Stokes’ belief that his team can defy that trend will be tested after a wicketless first session. The morning started with the stands half-empty and long queues outside, which Lancashire said were prompted by strict bag searches.
Ben Stokes goes up in appeal•Getty Images
India’s assistant coaches spoke before this Test about their unhappy habit of losing wickets either side of intervals. Per CricViz, India have lost nine wickets in the final 10 minutes of sessions in this series, compared to England’s four.
England have brought back Jofra Archer for a second spell in the lead-up to the lunch break, with Ben Stokes into his fifth over from the James Anderson End.
KL Rahul cuts for four•Getty Images
The stands are still slowly filling up at Emirates Old Trafford after long queues this morning, with plenty of fans voicing their frustrations on social media about being stuck outside the ground despite arriving in good time.
Lancashire are yet to comment publicly but will encourage fans to arrive early ahead of the second day’s play. We’ve been told that bag searches by security were the primary source of delays, along with a large number of fans arriving simultaneously at a single gate (Gate 13).
Yashasvi Jaiswal drives down the ground•Getty Images
Yashasvi Jaiswal has been much more restrained this morning that we are used to seeing, with five scoring shots in the first 80 minutes of the day. Alastair Cook, on the BBC’s Test Match Special believes that might be the result of some advice from Gautam Gambhir between Tests.
“You feel Jaiswal must have had a little bit of a talking to from the head coach, I reckon, Gambhir. He did play a couple of more attacking shots at Lord’s with a lot of intent, not much control. [He’ll have had] a bit of a reminder that ‘we need your runs’. He’s certainly batted with more control today, not dancing down the wicket.”
The last Indian to make his Test debut at Old Trafford before Anshul Kamboj was Anil Kumble in 1990.
Both share the initials ‘AK’ and both have taken 10 wickets in a first-class innings pic.twitter.com/ThI2zmQAqK
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) July 23, 2025
Whether intentionally or otherwise, KL Rahul has done a good job of soaking up the majority of Jofra Archer’s opening spell himself. Yashasvi Jaiswal was dismissed by Archer in both innings of the Lord’s Test but has only faced five balls of his first five-over spell this morning, with Rahul soaking up 25.
21 Jofra Archer averages 21.94 against left-handers in Tests, compared to 36.10 against right-handers. All five of his wickets at Lord’s came against lefties.
Following the beginning of the fourth Rothesay Test at Old Trafford, Josh Tongue has been released from England duty to play for Nottinghamshire.
The fast bowler will join the ongoing match against Hampshire on arrival at Utilita Bowl.#HAMvNOT pic.twitter.com/cZUZ7LDACl
— Nottinghamshire CCC (@TrentBridge) July 23, 2025
Josh Tongue will leave Old Trafford at lunch and will head down to Southampton for some match practice before the fifth Test at The Oval next week. Gus Atkinson is playing for Surrey’s 2nd XI as he looks to step up his recovery from a hamstring strain.
However, England have confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that Jacob Bethell will not be playing for Warwickshire this week. He has been short of match practice of late – he has made 6, 13 and 7 in his only three innings in the past month, all in the T20 Blast – but will stay with the squad as a sub fielder and potential concussion replacement.
India have started nicely enough here, reaching 25 for 0 after seven overs. Ball has occasionally beaten bat; Rahul and Jaiswal have punished Woakes when he has occasionally dropped short; and both batters have flashed through the cordon. England have probably been a fraction too short, straying from the six-metre length that appears hardest to play here.
“India openers, as ever, showing good technique and skill. But the odd one has nipped and bounced,” is Nasser Hussain’s verdict on the first half-hour on Sky Sports.
5 Left-handed batters in India’s top seven. KL Rahul and Shubman Gill are the only exceptions.
Ben Stokes and Shubman Gill at toss•Getty Images
Shubman Gill was in a punchy mood at his pre-match press conference yesterday, suggesting that England had not played in “the spirit of the game” at Lord’s when shamelessly wasting time on the third evening.
Ben Stokes was asked for a response on Test Match Special this morning, and wasn’t biting.
Q: I don’t know what you think of your opposite number’s comments about England not playing in the spirit of the game. Have you thought much about that?
A: No.
Q: Are you going to think much about it?
A: No.
Shubman Gill warms up•Getty Images
England won the toss and chose to bowl first vs India
Shubman Gill believes that a combination of a good batting surface and gloomy overhead conditions made it a “good toss to lose” in Manchester after Ben Stokes won his fourth in a row and inserted India.
No team has ever chosen to bowl first at Emirates Old Trafford and gone on to win a Test match, but Stokes believes that his team can defy that trend. “There’s pretty decent overhead conditions for bowling,” he explained at the toss. “It’s a typical Manchester wicket: quite firm, a little bit of grass coverage. Hopefully, we can make use of it this morning.”
India made three changes, two of them forced, and handed a Test debut to Anshul Kamboj, the Haryana and Chennai Super Kings seamer. Sai Sudharsan replaces Karun Nair at No. 3 after he failed to pass 40 in the first three Tests, while Shardul Thakur and Kamboj replace the injured Nitish Kumar Reddy and Akash Deep.
Anshul Kamboj bowls in the lead up to his Test debut•Getty Images
Gill said he was “a bit confused” as to whether he would have chosen to bat or bowl first, but was spared the decision as India lost their 14th consecutive toss across all men’s internationals. “The way we have played in the last three matches has been outstanding,” he said, isolating only the “small crunch moments” as the difference between the teams.
England announced their XI two days before the game with a single, forced change from the side that won by 22 runs at Lord’s last week. Liam Dawson, the Hampshire allrounder, returns for his first Test in eight years, replacing Shoaib Bashir who fractured the little finger on his left hand while attempting a return catch in the third Test.
Anshul Kamboj in action at training•Getty Images
Anshul Kamboj has been presented with his India Test cap and has marked his run-up. He looks set to form part of a four-man seam attack for India with Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur.
Sidharth Monga in Manchester: Kamboj, 24, is highly rated as a seam bowler by those who have worked with him, including two legends at CSK: MS Dhoni and R Ashwin.
Two things stand out about him: high release and, thus, seam movement; and the ability to hold length for long periods. Observers say if he bowls an eight-over spell in first-class cricket, his intensity is good for ball Nos 1 through 48.
He plays for Haryana in Ranji Trophy, and has 79 first-class wickets at an average of 22.88 since 2022. He is also less of a tailender than Prasidh Krishna. He averages 16 with the bat, but has struck at 73.08 and has hit 22 sixes in just 24 matches.
Ben Stokes with Liam Dawson, who is back in the Test side after eight years•PA Photos/Getty Images
It was 2,928 days ago that Liam Dawson last played Test cricket for England, and he had given up on his hopes of ever making a comeback at this level. But he has been the County Championship’s most valuable player across the last two-and-a-half seasons and with Shoaib Bashir out of the series with a broken finger, Dawson became the obvious pick.
England have made some funky selections in similar situations over the years – think Moeen Ali replacing Jack Leach in the 2023 Ashes, or Dan Lawrence opening the batting last summer – but Dawson’s inclusion this week reflects their short-term focus and pragmatism. For more on his call-up, read here.
11 Test spinners picked by England between Liam Dawson’s third and fourth Test caps
Jasprit Bumrah jogs during practice•PA Images via Getty Images
Good morning from a gloomy Manchester, where Jasprit Bumrah is marking his run-up. If India are true to their word, this will be his third and final appearance of this series – but will they be able to resist the temptation to play him at The Oval next week if they win here and set up a decider?
India will have to make at least two changes, with Akash Deep and Nitish Kumar Reddy missing out through injuries. Shubman Gill said yesterday that there would be a straight shoot-out between Prasidh Krishna and Anshul Kamboj to fill the third seamer’s spot, while Shardul Thakur is in contention to return as an allrounder.
There could yet be another change, too, with some indications that Sai Sudharsan is in line to return, most likely at the expense of Washington Sundar. Keep your eyes peeled for the toss in half an hour.
England have already named their team, with one enforced change from Lord’s: 1 Zak Crawley, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Ollie Pope, 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Ben Stokes (capt), 7 Jamie Smith (wk), 8 Liam Dawson, 9 Chris Woakes, 10 Brydon Carse, 11 Jofra Archer
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