Dawson receives England Test nod

Liam Dawson has been handed a Test recall in place of the injured Shoaib Bashir (right)

- By RORY DOLLARD

ENGLAND have handed spinner Liam Dawson a Test recall after an eight-year absence, with the 35-year-old replacing the injured Shoaib Bashir at Emirates Old Trafford next week.

Dawson made the last of his three Test appearances in 2017 but Bashir’s predicament has paved the way for a comeback he had all but given up on.

Bashir took the match-winning wicket in a tense finish at Lord’s on Monday evening, having already broken the little finger on his left hand, and is set for surgery in the coming days.

England have run through a host of different spinning options since Dawson last held the shirt, with the tally hitting double figures once all-rounders are included, but his consistently impressive performances have persuaded the selectors to draft him in for the fourth Rothesay Test.