Liam Dawson in shock England T20 selection

Seven months after he was farmed out on loan by Hampshire to Division Two side Essex, the 25-year-old has been picked in England’s squad for their upcoming World Twenty20 campaign in India – Dawson is the only previously uncapped player picked by head coach Trevor Bayliss, with the likes of Stuart Broad missing out.

The all-rounder from Calne has been selected as the national team’s third spinner behind Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid and will jet off to Cape Town tomorrow to feature in England’s two-match Twenty20 series against South Africa before the World Twenty20 tournament gets under way in March.

“I had a bit of an idea what it could be when I saw the number come up on my phone,” Dawson said. “He said to me ‘congratulations for what you’ve done with the Lions and you’ve earned the right to be there’.

“I couldn’t really tell anyone until the squad came out but I obviously told my family and my fiancée Sophie about it.

“I’m just extremely excited more than anything. I had a difficult time at the end of April-May last season but I turned things around, got selected for the performance programme, and things have happened so quickly from there.

“Like I always say, sport is an amazing thing and you never know what’s coming around the corner.”

Dawson joins Hampshire teammate and fellow Wiltshire alumni James Vince in England’s 15-man squad and was recommended by former head coach Andy Flower, with current incumbent Bayliss admitting that he has yet to see the former U19 captain play.

Bayliss said: “He (Dawson) came to a practice when we were out in the UAE, and he was there with the Lions.

“I went to one or two of their practices and saw him in the nets.

“From a bowling point of view, he gets a bit on the ball, and he looks as though he’s got something about him personality-wise. He can bat as well, and he’s a good fielder apparently.”

2010 champions England start their World Twenty20 bid against the West Indies in Mumbai on March 16.