Liam Dawson

A reliable option with both bat and ball, Hampshire allrounder Dawson has been on the fringes of the national setup for some time

The Cricketer | 21/05/2019 at 08:21

Born: March 1, 1990

Role: Right-hand bat, slow left-arm

An orthodox left-arm bowler known for his pin-point accuracy with ball in hand, Liam Dawson's inclusion in the 15-man squad has come after further impressive performances at county level.

The bowling allrounder has not featured in an England shirt since suffering a side strain during the white-ball part of the Sri Lanka tour in October, but his impressive form for Hampshire in limited-overs cricket with both bat and ball has played a huge part in the county reaching the Royal London One Day Cup final.

A direct alternative to Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali in the spin department, Dawson's 18 wickets already this season in the 50-over format at county level show that he can provide a reliable, industrious service as backup.

However, it is his batting that initially kicked off his career in the game, already having a a first-class century to his name at the age of 18, while 1000 first-class runs had arrived by 2010.

A stint in Zimbabwe to work on his bowling immediately reaped benefits in that department, taking 26 wickets in the 2012 County Championship at an average below 35. However, it was only in 2015 when Dawson effectively combined the two facets of the game.

Picking up 15 wickets at an average of 22, while accumulating 324 runs at an average of 64 with the bat, the Hampshire allrounder was named in the England squad for the ICC World T20 in India in 2016, but did not feature in the tournament.

However, the 29-year-old was able to demonstrate his talent on the field soon after, making a T20I debut in July 2016 against Sri Lanka, in which he took a commendable 3-27, before an ODI bow against Pakistan a few months later.

Drafted into the Test side in December of that year as cover for Zafar Ansari, he made his debut that month in Chennai and, despite being primarily chosen for his bowling, made an unbeaten 66 in his maiden innings - the highest score by an England number eight on debut.

However, since then Dawson's opportunities on the international stage have been limited to sporadic appearances, having been dropped from the Test side after a couple of outings in a 2017 home series against South Africa, but his consistent form for Hampshire has always kept him in contention.

He may have not been in many provisional squads a few months ago, but England can breathe easier knowing that their spin options are more well-rounded with the addition of Dawson.