Liam Dawson is a left-arm spin bowler and right-handed batter.
He was born in Swindon, Wiltshire and has represented England in all three formats at international level.
One of Hampshire's most versatile players, Dawson is a product of Hampshire’s impressive youth system, playing age-group cricket prior to his Hampshire debut in 2007, aged 17. The following season, aged just 18, he became the youngest player to score a First-Class century for Hampshire against Nottinghamshire.
Dawson featured predominantly as a batter in his first years in the red-ball side; in 2010 he brought up 1,000th First-Class runs for Hampshire and followed that up with centuries against Somerset and Warwickshire at the start and end of the 2011 Championship season respectively.
Further opportunities with the ball saw Dawson capitalise to full effect, taking his first five-wicket haul for Hampshire in 2012, before being given the role of opening the bowling in a fantastic T20 campaign which saw Hampshire claim their second title in three years. He was also part of Hampshire's List A title-winning side that summer, as the Club completed the limited-overs double.
In 2013, Dawson reached 1,000 County Championship runs in a season for the first time in his career, whilst his 13 wickets at just 21.30 apiece saw Hampshire secure a fourth consecutive Finals Day appearance in the T20 competition.
Dawson was then one of Hampshire’s most impressive players during the second-half of the 2015 season, particularly in a positive Royal London Cup campaign which saw him take 12 wickets at an average of just 26.33 and total 324 runs at an average of 64.80.
After a hugely successful off-season with the England Performance Programme (EPP) and England Lions, the left-armer earned a maiden England call-up as he was named in the squad for the 2016 ICC World T20 in India alongside James Vince.
A memorable year for Dawson, 2016 saw the influential Hampshire all-rounder also make T20I and ODI debuts for England, claiming 3-27 against Sri Lanka at Utilita Bowl and two wickets against Pakistan at Emirates Old Trafford. He was rewarded with his Test debut in England's tour of India that winter, hitting the highest score by a debutant batting at number eight with 66*.
Dawson featured for Eoin Morgan's side once again in 2017, lining up for an T20I series against South Africa, before making his home Test debut for England in the summer series against the same opponents.
2018 saw him continue to play a key role in James Vince’s side across all formats as he helped Hampshire to a Royal London Cup triumph whilst also offering excellent performances in the Vitality Blast and Specsavers County Championship competitions.
More contributions with both bat and ball followed for the Club in 2019, but it was his strong performances in Hampshire's One-Day Cup campaign – where he averaged 20 with the ball and more than 45 with the bat - which offered the biggest reward for the 29-year-old as he was rewarded with a call-up to England's 15-man squad for the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup, again alongside Vince.
Following an outstanding tournament which featured an incredible super over victory, England claimed the Cricket World Cup trophy for the first time in their history with both Dawson and Vince playing their part in the historic success.
Having suffered an Achilles injury the season prior, he started 2021 with a century against Leicestershire in the season opener. He took 10 wickets at an average of 24.90 in the Vitality Blast, as the Hawks made it to Finals Day.
2022 was another successful season in Dawson’s illustrious career. The County Championship saw him record a career best with the bat, a 171 against Kent, while he took ten wickets in a match for the first time against Essex.
In the Vitality Blast, Dawson again showed his class by taking regular wickets and keeping the run rate down, racking up 20 wickets at an average of just 20.50 – which played an integral part in bringing a third T20 title back to Utilita Bowl.
On the international level his ability in white ball cricket hasn’t gone unnoticed with IT20 call-ups for series in West Indies and Pakistan as well as reserve spots for both the 2021 and 2022 T20 World Cup squads.
The 2023 season was a record-breaking one for Dawson as he put in match winning performances across the formats.
His introduction into the Metro Bank One Day Cup team, after a stint in The Hundred, was inspired as he took career best List A figures of 7-15 in the semi-final, before scoring a half-century in the final as Hampshire fell just short of winning the title. He also played in every match of the Hawks’ Vitality Blast campaign as they made it to a record tenth Finals Day.
It was in the County Championship that he was most impressive though, scoring 840 runs and taking 49 wickets – with three centuries and four five-wicket hauls. Against Middlesex he became just the fourth Hampshire player, and first for 122 years, to score a century and take ten wickets in a match.
As a result of his terrific season, Dawson was crowned Overall Men’s Domestic MVP and County Championship MVP by the PCA, while also being included in the IG PCA Men's Team of the Year. He also picked up four awards at the Club’s End of Season Awards, including Fans’ Player of the Year and Players’ Player of the Year.
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