Manchester: England Monday replaced off-spinner Shoaib Bashir with slow left-arm orthodox bowler Liam Dawson as their only change in the playing eleven for the fourth Test against India which starts here July 23.
England lead 2-1 in the five-match Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, having won the first and the third Tests at Headingley and Lord’s respectively. India won the second Test at Edgbaston.
Bashir was ruled out of the remainder of the series after suffering a fracture on the left hand’s index finger on the third day of the third Test, trying to stop a powerful drive from Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja. Bashir had since then undergone surgery.
But the off-spinner had taken the final wicket of the third Test to give England a 22-run narrow win in the third Test.
Bashir’s exit led to the recall of 35-year-old Dawson, who last played the third of his three Tests so far in July 2017 against South Africa. Dawson comes back into side in the wake of some solid county performances.
The hosts had won the series opener at Leeds by five wickets while India had recorded a massive 336-run win in the second Test at Birmingham.
England XI:
Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (vc), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Liam Dawson, Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer.
