Liam Dawson has been named in England's squad for the fourth Test against India. If Dawson gets a game at Old Trafford, it would have come after a gap of 102 Test matches.
England have replaced the injured Shoaib Bashir with Dawson for the Old Trafford Test following Bashir's injury to his left hand. Dawson is returning to the England Test setup after a gap of eight years, having last played against South Africa in 2017.
The Lord's Test which England won by 21 runs was the 102nd match they have played since Dawson's last appearance. If Dawson is indeed named in the XI at Manchester, he will enter the top ten list for the longest gaps between Test appearances.
Longest gaps between Test appearances
The world record belongs to another English spinner, Gareth Batty. Batty missed 142 Test matches between 2005 and 2016 for England. Interestingly, Batty's last Test came in the same series where Dawson debuted, against India in 2016.
Dawson's debut Test also saw Karun Nair smash a triple hundred for India, soon after which Nair lost his place in the side, only to make a comeback during the ongoing Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. Nair missed 77 matches, the fourth-longest gap for India.
If Dawson plays at Old Trafford, he'll be fourth on the list for English players as well, the three ahead of him being Batty, Martin Bicknell, and Derek Shackleton. On the all-time list, Dawson is set to be seventh.
If, however, Dawson is not picked for the fourth Test and plays the fifth game instead, he'll equal Shackleton at joint-third for England, and joint-sixth on the all-time list.
Longest gaps between Test matches
| Name | Team | From | To | Span | Tests missed |
| Gareth Batty | England | 5 Jun 2005 | 20 Oct 2016 | 11y 137d | 142 |
| Jaydev Unadkat | India | 20 Dec 2010 | 22 Dec 2022 | 12y 2d | 118 |
| Martin Bicknell | England | 9 Aug 1993 | 21 Aug 2003 | 10y 12d | 114 |
| Floyd Reifer | West Indies | 18 Jan 1999 | 9 Jul 2009 | 10y 172d | 109 |
| Younis Ahmed | Pakistan | 2 Nov 1969 | 21 Feb 1987 | 17y 111d | 104 |
| Derek Shackleton | England | 7 Nov 1951 | 20 Jun 1963 | 11y 225d | 103 |
| Liam Dawson | England | 17 Jul 2017 | 22 Jul 2025 | 8y 5d | 102* |
| Les Jackson | England | 26 Jul 1949 | 6 Jul 1961 | 11y 345d | 96 |
| Fawad Alam | Pakistan | 28 Nov 2009 | 13 Aug 2020 | 10y 259d | 88 |
| Dinesh Karthik | India | 21 Jan 2010 | 14 Jun 2018 | 8y 144d | 87 |
| Pat Pocock | England | 13 Jul 1976 | 26 Jul 1984 | 8y 13d | 86 |
| Wayne Larkins | England | 1 Sep 1981 | 24 Feb 1990 | 8y 176d | 85 |
| Liam Plunkett | England | 11 Jun 2007 | 12 Jun 2014 | 7y 1d | 85 |
| Parthiv Patel | India | 11 Aug 2008 | 26 Nov 2016 | 8y 107d | 83 |
| Rawl Lewis | West Indies | 29 Dec 1998 | 17 Mar 2006 | 7y 78d | 81 |
| Keith Andrew | England | 1 Dec 1954 | 6 Jun 1963 | 8y 187d | 79 |
| Brad Hogg | Australia | 13 Oct 1996 | 10 Apr 2003 | 6y 179d | 78 |
| Ryan Sidebottom | England | 20 May 2001 | 25 May 2007 | 6y 5d | 78 |
| Tim Paine | Australia | 13 Oct 2010 | 23 Nov 2017 | 7y 41d | 78 |
| Karun Nair | India | 28 Mar 2017 | 20 Jun 2025 | 8y 90d | 77 |
| Brian Close | England | 28 Aug 1967 | 3 Jun 1976 | 8y 280d | 75 |
| Ben Duckett | England | 21 Nov 2016 | 1 Dec 2022 | 6y 10d | 75 |
*Assuming Dawson is named in the XI for the fourth Test vs India.
Follow Wisden for all England vs India updates, including live scores, latest news, team lineups, schedule and more. The live streaming details for the ENG vs IND series in India, UK, USA and rest of the world can be found here. For Wisden quizzes, head here.
