England Cricketers With Longest Gaps Between Two Tests; Liam Dawson Enters List

England players with longest gap between two Tests [Source: AP Photo]

England's Liam Dawson proved his mettle with a brilliant delivery to dismiss a well-set Yashasvi Jaiswal in the first innings of the fourth Test at Manchester. Jaiswal was going for his hundred, but Dawson, who was making his England return after 8 years, turned into a magician and got rid of the danger man in style.

Dawson was not set for an England return, and he was not in the selectors' minds. However, an injury to spinner Shoaib Bashir opened door's for his selection and the wily bowler was picked in the England playing XI for the Manchester Test.

It was in July 2017 when Dawson, last played for England in a Test match, and fast forward, 8 years later, his golden arm dismissed, perhaps India's best Test batter. With him returning to England XI after 8 years, we look at the English players with longest gaps between two Tests.

England players with longest gaps between two Tests

Les Jackson, the former cricketer, had the longest gap between two Test matches for England - 11 years, 345 days. Interestingly, Dawson sits well below Jackson in terms of years missed, but he still occupies the fourth spot in the table due to the fact that in 8 years and 5 days, Dawson missed a whopping 102 Test matches.

This is partly due to the fact that in the last 10 years, England have played the majority of Test cricket, and on average, they play 15-18 Tests in a year. Gareth Batty (142 Tests), Martin Bicknell (114 Tests), Derek Shackleton (103 Tests), make the top three of the list, with Dawson sitting at the fourth spot.

Why Dawson was picked despite missing 8 years of Test cricket?

Liam Dawson's stellar first-class numbers tells the story about his brilliance in County Championship. In 212 matches, the wily spinner has 371 wickets, at 31.54. Also, he has 15 fifers under his belt, showcasing his wicket-taking prowess. 

Dawson's inclusion also bolster's England's batting depth, as the spinner has 18 first-class hundreds to his name.

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