Chris Woakes showed great courage and determination on the final day of the fifth Test against India at The Oval. He chose to bat with a dislocated shoulder, even though he had already been ruled out of the match. England were just 17 runs away from a historic win with only one wicket left. Unfortunately, they ended up losing the match.
Talking about the experience in an interview with The Guardian, Woakes said: “It was bittersweet in the end. Part of me wondered what it might be like, to see if I could have defended the ball, seen out an over maybe, squeezed a run or carved a four.”
Woakes had made up his mind on Day 4 that he would bat no matter what. The score didn’t matter to him. On Day 5, he walked in bravely, holding the bat in his right hand, with his injured left arm tucked under his sweater. The Oval crowd gave him a standing ovation.
However, he was thankful he didn’t have to face any short-pitched deliveries.
“But the other side of it was: ‘Thank God I didn’t face a 90mph bouncer, one-handed, facing the wrong way around.’ And I knew I was going to have to wear a few bouncers if I did get on strike. Those were the anxious feelings, really. You’re still pretty exposed out there,” Woakes added.
He managed to help add 10 valuable runs with Gus Atkinson before Siraj bowled a brilliant yorker to end the match. India won by six runs and the series was drawn 2-2.
For latest sports updates: Follow RevSportz