Mark Forbes

Imagine Liam Dawson in autumn of 2023 with a phone in his hand. First Luke Wright rings to say he is in the World Cup squad for India and then Wright rings again to say he is not. Then Rob Key calls about the Test tour and Dawson, who had already travelled to 2 World Cups, won the 2019 one and never played a single match, asks the only question that mattered. Will I actually play? Nobody could promise him that so he said no, flew to South Africa and won the SA20 with Sunrisers Eastern Cape. this is a man who started swinging a bat at 3 in rural Wiltshire, joined Goatacre Cricket Club at 7 and waited his whole life for England to say yes and when they finally said maybe he chose his own peace instead. He has said since that chasing selection was unhealthy and I think the day he let it go was the day his cricket opened up. At 36, under Harry Brook, he is living a second life. In T20Is this year he has 22 wickets at 7.78 economy and no other spinner from the full member teams has taken more wickets at a better economy. But real rise has come in ODIs, where he has taken 14 wickets in 8 games at 4.35 an over. Mind you, no other bowler in this England side has managed an econkmy below 5.5 this year and whole bowling unit is going at 6.03. Dawson is not just holding the line, he is their highest wicket taker at 21.78 average. For years England treated Dawson like a spare part. This year they found out he was the engine.