“It’s not the way you want to be front-page news – you’d sooner it was for five wickets or a century.”
That’s how England all-rounder Chris Woakes reacted to all the admiration and respect he has received for coming out to bat as the last man with his arm in a sling as his team attempted to get over the line in a big chase in the classic series finale against India at The Oval.
Woakes had dislocated his left shoulder late on Day 1 while trying to prevent a boundary, and the England team management had said he would play no further part in the game. But it didn’t prevent the Warwickshire veteran, who at 36 years of age had appeared in every Test of the series, from pushing the pain barrier for his team.
“You just know you’re part of something bigger. It’s not just you that you’re playing for out there. It’s your team and your teammates, all the hard work and the sacrifices they put in, the people watching at home and in the ground. You just feel a duty to do it for everyone,” Woakes told The Guardian as he awaits further scans on his injury.
Though England fell six runs short of a memorable series victory, it was an apt end to the summer which saw Rishabh Pant coming out to bat with a broken foot, Shoaib Bashir taking the final wicket at Lord’s bowling with a broken finger on his non-bowling hand, and home skipper Ben Stokes exemplifying his opinion that “pain is just an emotion” as he bowled in the Old Trafford Test with a torn shoulder muscle.
And the victorious Indian team was quick to show its appreciation.
“(India captain) Shubman (Gill) said something like: ‘That was incredibly brave,’” Woakes says. “I told him: ‘You’ve had an unbelievable series, well played, and credit to your team.’”
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Pant, who broke his foot during the Manchester Test trying to reverse-sweep a full delivery from Woakes, couldn’t help being moved.
“I saw Rishabh had put an image of me on Instagram with a salute emoji, so I replied thanking him: ‘Appreciate the love and hope the foot is OK,’ etc. He then sent me a voice note saying: ‘I hope all is OK, good luck with the recovery and I hope we meet again out there some day.’ I obviously said sorry for the broken foot.”
Arm in a sling, Chris Woakes has arrived to the crease 😱 pic.twitter.com/D4QDscnfXE
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) August 4, 2025
What might’ve been
But the reception hasn’t mellowed the disappointment of finishing on the wrong side of an incredibly tight contest.
“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,” the down-to-earth Woakes, a favourite of England cricket fans, said.
Recalling his time in the middle on the fifth morning at The Oval, when his job was primarily to stay at the other end and allow Gus Atkinson to score the 17 runs needed for victory, Woakes said he would have had to take a left-handed stance if he had to face up to any deliveries, as his normal batting posture would have put his already-injured shoulder in harm’s way. But it never came to that as a Mohammed Siraj delivery crashed into Atkinson’s stumps with the hosts one big hit away from a series win. But running between the wickets was painful enough.
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“The first one was the worst,” Woakes said. “All I had taken was codeine (a medicine used to relieve mild to moderate pain) 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.”
He had walked out to bat wearing left-hander Jacob Bethell’s thigh guard and, in the absence of an oversized arm guard for protection, two smaller ones borrowed from Joe Root and Ollie Pope. England’s last batsman was helped into his whites by England physiotherapist Ben Davies, while Stokes strapped on his pads for him.
Body on the line
All this pain and suffering for saving just one run. Some may argue that fielders, and bowlers in particular, diving in the field is not worth it, if it handicaps their team in such a way. But that’s not how Woakes looks at it, recalling the fateful incident.
“We chase down every run. That has always been the way. As a bowler, you really respect guys trying to save every run. It means a lot to you. So, you kind of do the same for the team. And a tight game like that one – just six runs the difference – kinda shows how they all add up.
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“The outfield was wet from the rain, almost greasy, and my hand slipped as I landed and my full body weight went through my shoulder. I heard a pop and knew I was in trouble. The pain came on pretty quickly and my arm was just hanging there. It was grim and my thoughts were racing. ‘Is it game over? Is it career done?’ It was a horrible place to be,” he said.
But Woakes still backed his skipper in rejecting the idea of injury substitutions in the case of such on-field incidents that have such a major bearing on a match.
“I’m with Stokesy, to be honest. Having played for 18 years, the game is what it is: you lose a player and as a team you have to find a way. It makes you more resilient and the team stronger. I do understand why people might think it’s needed for freak injuries like mine but there would be too many grey areas or loopholes,” he added.
