England all-rounder Chris Woakes, who suffered a shoulder dislocation on the first day of the fifth and final Test against India at the Oval and is currently waiting on the scans to ascertain the extent of the injury, reflected on the fifth day when he courageously swallowed the pain and came out to bat with his team needing 17 runs to win, with a wicket remaining. Woakes mentioned that he wouldn't have been able to live with the fact that he didn't try to go to the ground when his side was nine down and was in touching distance of a famous win.
I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if I didn’t try," Woakes was quoted by The Guardian, a couple of days after the Oval Test. The 36-year-old dived on his left shoulder while saving a run on the first day of the Oval Test and was ruled out of the remainder of the series. Woakes was thankful for all the respect that the spectators and the Indian players showed him, but mentioned that the innings ending at nine down wouldn't have made for a good look and that he was playing for a bigger cause, his team and the teammates and the hard work all of them put in all week.
“I don’t know what it is. 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 said while still being disappointed that his side couldn't get over the line.
“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 came in when England needed 17 runs, with an arm guard on his right hand, suggesting that he would take a left-hander's guard. However, Gus Atkinson decided to farm the strike and when he needed to change it on the last ball, to retain for the next over, he had to push Woakes for a quick bye after failing to put bat on ball. The quick run resulted in Woakes' hand coming off the sling and the batter being in excruciating pain. Woakes recalled that he was fearing whether his shoulder would pop back out again or not.
“The first one was the worst,” he said. “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," he added.
Atkinson hit a six and ran a couple before changing the strike again. But Mohammed Siraj was able to dismiss Atkinson to script a historic win for India.
