England hope to deliver knockout blow and seal Test series win against India

Spinner Liam Dawson returns at Old Trafford as home team aim for unassailable 3-1 lead in five-match series

England head coach Brendon McCullum, left, captain Ben Stokes, centre, and returning spinner Liam Dawson during training at Old Trafford in Manchester. PA

England will be brimming with confidence as they go for the knockout punch in the fourth Test against India in Manchester, buoyed by the fighting spirit shown by the team in the five-match series.

England bounced back from precarious positions to take a 2-1 lead in the series, showing exceptional discipline in eking out a 22-run win in the Lord's Test.

That result in the third Test breathed life into the series that had been plagued by poor quality of Dukes balls as well as slow over rates and delays.

The return of fast bowler Jofra Archer after a gap of four years turned out to be a masterstroke as his extreme pace and accuracy across both innings played a big role in keeping India's batters at bay.

Archer picked up five wickets in the match and took the crucial scalps of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant and Washington Sundar in the second innings to turn the game and series decisively in England's favour.

Many former England players were sceptical about Archer returning to Test cricket having barely played any first-class cricket over the past four seasons.

But the 30-year-old silenced all his doubters and declared his readiness to play the remaining two matches and stake his claim for a permanent spot in the Test team.

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  England captain Ben Stokes celebrates with Shoaib Bashir after sealing a thrilling 22-run win over India in the third Test at Lord's, on July 14, 2025. Getty Images

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  Shoaib Bashir of England celebrates with England teammates Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope after the match. Getty Images

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  England spinner Shoaib Bashir wheels away in celebration after claiming the match-winning wicket of India's last man Mohammed Siraj. England are now 2-1 up in the five-match series. Getty Images

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  England captain Ben Stokes celebrates with teammates after trapping KL Rahul lbw for 39. Getty Images

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  India's Ravindra Jadeja xxx. PA

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  England bowler Chris Woakes celebrates after taking the wicket of India's Nitish Kumar Reddy. AP

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  Dejected Indian batter Nitish Kumar Reddy after being caught behind off the bowling of Chris Woakes for 13. Getty Images

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  England bowler Ben Stokes of England appeals successfully for the wicket of India opener KL Rahul. Getty Images

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  England's Jofra Archer catches out Washington Sundar of India. Getty Images

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  Jofra Archer of England celebrates after catching out Washington Sundar off his own bowling for a duck. Getty Images

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  India batter Rishabh Pant is bowled by England's Jofra Archer for nine. AFP

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  England captain Ben Stokes during the final day's play at Lord's. Reuters

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  England fast-bowler Jofra Archer, centre, celebrates with teammates after grabbing the vital wicket of India batter Rishabh Pant. AFP

As the fourth Test begins at Old Trafford on Wednesday, England will be relying on another player who is making his comeback to the red-ball team after many years.

Left-arm spinner Liam Dawson was named in the team, marking his first Test appearance in eight years.

The 35-year-old Hampshire spinner replaced off-spinner Shoaib Bashir, who hurt his finger while fielding in the Lord's Test but still picked up the all important final wicket of Mohammad Siraj to deliver a famous win.

Dawson has not played a Test match since earning his third cap in July 2017. England have gone through a number of spin bowling options over the last eight years, but Dawson's reliability with the ball and more than capable batting lower down the batting order made him a sensible choice as replacement.

With Joe Root offering control and bite with his off-spin, England are well served in the slow-bowling department.

England 'no longer the nice guys'

Ben Stokes's team turned up the heat in the Lord's Test after India went after their opening batters Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett for perceived time-wasting tactics in the in the third innings.

The verbal altercation between India captain Shubman Gill and the openers particularly irked the England players, who upped the ante in the field in the fourth innings.

Captain Gill looked out of sorts, missing full tosses and getting trapped plumb lbw as England's pacers and fielders piled on the pressure.

England batter Harry Brook said the team had decided to ditch the “nice guys” demeanour.

“I've had a lot of compliments. Everybody said it was awesome to watch. It was good fun, I have to admit. It was tiring but it made fielding a lot more enjoyable,” Brook said ahead of the fourth Test.

“It put them under a little bit more pressure. The opportunity that arose for us to not be the nice guys was because of what they did. We just thought 'we're not standing for that'.

“We had a conversation and said 'it's time to not be those nice guys that we have been before'. You don't always have to be nice. Who knows, that might have played into our favour. It was good fun.

“We were doing it within the spirit of the game. We weren't going out there effing and jeffing at them and being nasty people. We were just going about it in the right manner.”

Both teams, however, will have to keep one eye on the weather as the forecast is pretty grim with Manchester is expected to receive rain for the entire week. The city witnessed heavy rain on Tuesday.