Manchester [UK], July 24 : England spin bowling all-rounder Liam Dawson, who made his return to Test set-up after eight years and celebrated the moment with the big wicket of opener Yashasvi Jaiswal at Manchester, admitted that he is a much better bowler than he was few years back and felt the nerves before the match.
Dawson ended up with figures of 1/45 in 15 overs following a fine day at work during the first day of the fourth Manchester Test against India, getting Jaiswal caught for a fine 58 at slips by Harry Brook seven balls deep into his spell. This moment came for Dawson after years of domestic grind for Hampshire, where he was a prominent figure on County Cricket bowling and batting charts alike consistently.
Speaking after the match as quoted by Sky Sports, Dawson said, "I have said to a few people that the age I am at, I thought Test cricket was gone. To be back involved is really cool, and I've got to try and enjoy each day that I get."
"I do feel I am a better bowler than I was a few years ago. I was nervous. I had not played for a number of years. The biggest thing for me is that I understood what to expect, whereas before, I did not. Hopefully, I will get a couple more. It is one wicket, I have done nothing special," he added.
Dawson has been a crucial figure for Hampshire for years, with the 35-year-old having 10,731 runs in 212 first-class matches at an average of 35.29, with 18 centuries and 56 fifties, and taking 371 wickets at an average of 31.54. His most recent County Championship outing in 2024/25 saw him score 536 runs in nine matches and 14 innings at an average of 44.36, with a century and two half-centuries. His CV was boosted further by 21 wickets at an average of 40.04, with best figures of 5/158.
The veteran is the third-highest run-getter for Hampshire in all-time lists and fourth-highest wicket-taker overall as well.
Despite his vast experience, Dawson's presence is barely as a background figure in England's two big World Cup wins, a non-playing member of the 2019 ODI World Cup squad, a travelling reserve for the 2022 T20 World Cup. He had only 15 limited-overs cricket appearances between his Test numbers three and four. The last three of these white-ball matches came before this tour against West Indies, marking an end of him being away from international cricket for three years. It was an injury to spinner Shoaib Bashir that opened the doors for a Test return.
The Hampshire veteran is familiar with a lot of current players and felt that his way back into the set-up was simple and "relaxed".
"I know a lot of the lads, so coming in was fine, the buzz of the Test matches is very different from domestic cricket," Dawson added.
"It is a very relaxed environment. I was told to just be me and do what I have done in red-ball cricket. Just trying to do a job for the team," he added.
Dawson was in complete control on the field, allowed to set it up just the way he wanted, and revealed that he had spoken to skipper Ben Stokes about his plans during training.
"I had a chat with him a couple of days out training, and he said to just try and be clever in how I use them. I was trying to do what I have done the last three or four years in domestic cricket and bring that into this," he said.
"You always need someone [a coach] to talk to, but I am at the age where I am not going to massively change my game, I have got to keep it very simple. But it is good to chat to Jeets (Jeetan Patel, spin bowling coach) and throw a few ideas around, but from a technical point there is probably not much I can change at the age I am at now," he concluded.
Team India ended day one at 264/4, with Shardul Thakur (19*) and Ravindra Jadeja (16*). Rishabh Pant, who retired hurt at 37 due to a foot injury, was a massive blow to India. Half-centuries from Sai Sudharsan (61 in 151 balls, with seven fours) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (58 in 107 balls, with 10 fours and a six) served as the biggest contributions of the day.
Skipper Ben Stokes (2/47) stood as the pick of the bowlers, removing skipper Shubman Gill and Sudharsan.
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