Mark Butcher has expressed sympathy for Liam Dawson over his omission from England's Test squad to face Pakistan, but acknowledged that his "ship has sailed" for international cricket.
Dawson has been the standout spinner on the English domestic circuit across the last two summers, finishing as the leading wicket-taker in the County Championship in 2023, and with 54 wickets at an average of 25.14 this year.
There were rumours that he would be selected for England's tour of India last winter, which would have meant missing the SA20, in which he had a lucrative contract in place to play for Sunrisers Eastern Cape. While the tour of Pakistan this time around does not clash with any high-profile franchise tournaments, Dawson has made it plain he believes his England career to be likely over.
Speaking at the start of the summer in an interview with ESPNcricinfo, Dawson said: "For me, probably Test cricket now is completely off the radar... I'm 34 and I want to enjoy my cricket and try to win trophies towards the end of my career... It's not something I want to be doing, running drinks at my age anymore. I was really happy with what I chose this winter and it went well."
Instead, England have gone with a change in their approach from the last time they toured Pakistan, when they selected several spin-bowling all-rounders to pack their batting. This time, they've selected Shoaib Bashir and Jack Leach as their only specialist spinners, neither of whom offer the potential for big runs with the bat. In addition to his 54 Championship wickets this summer, Dawson also scored 956 runs with the bat, including three centuries.
"People will know that I'm very much a fan and in favour of Liam Dawson," said Butcher, speaking on the Wisden Cricket Weekly podcast. "But I also saw a scenario whereby you make the decision based around the contract you might have had not to play for England. And then a year later you find yourself in a position where people will want you to go and you've had a brilliant summer all over again and they've moved on. Those are the decisions you make, and you make them based on contracts and on your earnings capability.
"But also, it has been a mistake for England to have overlooked him for a long, long period of time, but that ship has sailed... Unfortunately it's difficult to row back from something like that. But, a bit like Robinson, there's no doubting his quality, there's no doubting that in conditions where you're going to need some extra depth with the batting, you're going to need some nous as a spin bowler that he is more than qualified - he's over-qualified.
"Do I have some sympathy? Yeah, of course I do. But the game changes and you make finite decisions based around what circumstances might be on one trip, and 12 months down the line you find yourself in a situation where that isn't the case at all and, 'Do you know what? I wouldn't have minded being involved...'. But that scenario has long, long gone. His numbers will be there to mock any selectors from now until eternity."
Dawson previously played three Test matches for England across 2016 and 2017. He played the final Test match of England's 2016 tour of India before playing two Tests in the following summer against South Africa at home. He has seven Test wickets at an average of 42.57.
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