The gloves are off Needle turned Lord's Test into a box office thriller - now for a blockbuster sequel

The third Test at Lord's was an outstanding game and a brilliant win for England, particularly after the hammering they received at Edgbaston.

- Mark Ramprakash

To come back and show the mettle they did as a group of players was hugely impressive. Now, nine days later, they have to go again, and the fourth game may be the most intriguing yet.

For England, Liam Dawson returns after an eight-year Test absence. I was involved with the side when he was picked and played in 2016 – he was a good cricketer then, and is a better one now. He is recognised as the best all-round spinning option in the country and my view is that England are stronger with him.

Shoaib Bashir has great potential and seems to be making good strides forward as a young spin bowler, but in his place comes a vastly experienced 35-year-old who has played all formats and all round the world, has 18 first-class hundreds to his name and is clearly a better all-round package.

My preference as a captain was always to have a left-arm spinner in the line-up, and at Middlesex I was lucky to play with Phil Tufnell, who was as good as they came. As a match wears on they are able to take advantage of the rough to left-handed batters, and have the option of bowling over the wicket to right-handers – as we’ve seen Ravindra Jadeja do in this series – landing the ball just outside leg stump, an unusual trajectory that leaves some batters unsure what to play and what to leave.

Ben Stokes can be confident as captain that if he throws the ball to Dawson on day one or day five, he has the knowhow to set fields accordingly and play his part as a key member of the bowling unit.