Chris Woakes Relives Heroic Walkout Against India With Injured Arm in Dramatic Test Series

Chris Woakes had dislocated and fractured his shoulder on the first day of the fifth Test.

Chris Woakes Relives Heroic Walkout Against India With Injured Arm in Dramatic Test Series

Chris Woakes (Image via NDTV Sports)

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England and India engaged in a breathtaking five match Test series that took a serious toll on each player’s fitness. 25 days of Test cricket wasn’t easy on everyone’s body, and a few did succumb to serious injuries.

However, what made this series one to remember was that those injured too wanted to contribute while carrying the injury. There were two instances of incredible grit shown by an athlete in this series.

The first one was Rishabh Pant walking out to bat in Manchester with a fracture in his right foot. The Indian wicketkeeper played with just his hands and scored an unimaginable half century. The other one, though, was even more severe. Chris Woakes had dislocated and fractured his shoulder on the first day of the fifth Test. He didn’t take part in the remaining days until his side actually needed him to come out.

With 35 runs needed on the last day by England and India needing 4 wickets, which included Chris Woakes, the all-rounder was determined to walk out and bat with one hand if it came down to him. Josh Tongue was the ninth wicket to fall, and the whole of The Oval rose in applause as Woakes, wearing a sling, walked down the stairs to bat.

In an interview with Sky Sports a few days after the cinematic Test match, Woakes relieved his heroic tale.

Yeah, I am alright, I mean, I have been better. It was obviously a bit of a tough week. A few ups and downs emotionally but great to be here and yeah, I mean, obviously still in the sling. Still working on it and waiting to see the full extent of the damage, but all good.

Chris Woakes said via Sky Sports

Woakes acknowledged how draining the six weeks were for every player emotionally and called it a tough week. The all-rounder still in the sling still seems to not be sure about his shoulder as he mentioned that he waits to see the extent of the damage in his body.

Yeah, it’s weird. When you have an injury like that, I think you think your game is done. Then the closer it goes, always never a matter of whether I was going to be out there or not. It was just a matter of how I was going to approach it. Yeah, emotions were running high. I was hoping we could get over the line with Gus (Atkinson) at the other end and I wouldn’t have to face a ball. But not to be unfortunately.

Chris Woakes added

Woakes explained the thoughts he had in his mind after the injury. Initially, he too felt that the game was over for him but decided to take part once it got closer. He was extremely sure that he wanted to be out there but was just unsure of how to go about it to avoid any risk.

The all-rounder also admitted that he was hoping that Gus Atkinson at the other end would get the team over the line. However, an inspired spell by Mohammed Siraj in the morning didn’t allow an English win. The home side fell short of the target by 6 runs. With that win, India drew the series at 2-2.

How tested was Chris Woakes’ body right through the series?

Chris Woakes was one of only two bowlers in the whole five match series to have taken part in all of the matches without a break. The other being Mohammed Siraj from the Indian team. With the wickets not offering much for the bowlers right through the series, it was a lot of hard work for the fast bowlers, who had to put in the strides every ball without great returns.

Chris Woakes playing test cricket for England
Chris Woakes (via BBC)

Woakes didn’t have an outstanding series but had moments to cherish from time to time. He bowled a massive 181 overs through the course of the series. He possibly would have crossed 200 overs if he remained fit right through the last Test match as well.

However, the 181 overs didn’t pay off that well as Woakes could only accumulate 11 wickets. He finished with an ordinary bowling average of 52.18.

Woakes had a terrific moment in Manchester when he reduced India to 0/2 when the visitors were trailing by 300+ runs. However, the team couldn’t capitalize on the start provided by Woakes as India managed to bat almost two days.

After all the heavy lifting right through the series, Woakes finally went down with an injury trying to stop a boundary in the last Test. He immediately was taken off the field, and England had to bat with just 10 batters in their first innings. Woakes did make a heroic entry in the second innings, but England fell 6 runs short eventually, which many felt a fit Woakes could have knocked down.

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