Follow UsLiam Dawson played his first Test for England in eight years, and he wasted little time as he got Yashasvi Jaiswal's wicket off the seventh delivery he bowled on Day 1 of the Manchester Test on July 23 (Wednesday). He lured the southpaw forward, and the ball held its line to induce an outside edge to first slip.
Dawson bowled 15 overs on the first day, finishing with 1/45. Despite bowling a good spell, that included the wicket of a well-set Jaiswal, the spinner insists he has done nothing special and believes Day 2 will be a vital one in the context of the game.
"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," Dawson said after stumps on Day 1.
"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."
In first-class cricket since 2020, Dawson averages over 40 with the bat and has 148 wickets at 25.4, making him among the top all-rounders in the world. Yet a chance to play for England has always eluded him, with the likes of Shoaib Bashir, Tom Hartley, Jack Leach and Dom Bess preferred ahead of him.
Bashir's injury in the previous game opened the doors for Dawson's rerun to the Test side, and he made an instant impact.
Asked about what difference he saw in his bowling since his Test axe to now, 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."
India ended Day 1 on 264/4, and Dawson will perhaps have a bigger role to play on Day 2, as England would want to restrict their opponents to under 350.