England all-rounder Chris Woakes was thought to be ready to bat on the final day of the fifth Test at The Oval, despite having a dislocated shoulder. The injury occurred on Day 1 of the match, and he did not play again until the last innings.
With England requiring 35 runs and four wickets on Day 5, Indian pacers Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna showed outstanding control with the old ball, dismissing three English batsmen in the morning session.
Chris Woakes ultimately stepped out to bat, his wounded arm in a sling.
Although he did not face a delivery, he helped by racing between the wickets with Gus Atkinson to keep the chase alive, bringing England closer to the mark.
He was dissatisfied with the final result, as England fell just six runs short of victory in the five-match Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, which ended in a 2-2 draw.
“I’m still gutted, devastated really, that we couldn’t get the fairytale. But I never considered not going out there, even if it had been 100 runs still to win or whatever. It was nice to have the ovation and some of the Indian players came over to show their respect. But any other player would have done the same. You couldn’t just call it off at nine wickets down,” Woakes told The Guardian.
Although he did not face a single delivery, running between the wickets with Atkinson was a challenging task for Woakes. He was visibly in discomfort while attempting singles, and later shared the extent of pain he had experienced during those moments.
“The first one was the worst. All I had taken was codeine and it was just so sore. Instinct took over here – even with my arm strapped down I tried to run as you naturally do. I genuinely worried my shoulder had popped back out again, hence you saw me throw my helmet off, rip the glove off with my teeth, and check it was OK,” Woakes said.
India
