The England batter Joe Root has provided a major hint about Chris Woakes ahead of the final day of the Oval Test.
\With the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy reaching its climax, England needs 35 runs in the final day of the fifth test to secure a 3-1 lead in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.
Woakes was initially ruled out of the remainder of the fifth test against India after sustaining the injury while fielding on day 01, but he is prepared to ‘put his body on the line’ if England needs him.
Chris Woakes practised batting one-handed in the indoor school on Sunday, and changed into his Whites during the evening session, readying himself to bat at No.11 if required.
England needed 35 runs with four wickets, aiming to clinch a 3-1 series win on the fifth day, and Joe Root has hinted Woakes’ willingness to bat showed his commitment to the cause.
“He’s all-in, like the rest of us,” said Root. “It’s been that kind of series, where guys have had to put bodies on the line. Hopefully, it doesn’t get to that. But he had some throwdowns in here (the indoor school) at one point, and he’s ready if needed… He’s desperate to do what it takes.”
However, it remains to see whether Woakes would attempt to bat right hand like Malcolm Marshall in 1984 or switch to left-handed on account of his injury as Pakistan’s Saleem Malik once did.
“I’m not sure,” Root said. “I’ve not seen him practice yet. You might get a better indication tomorrow if he has some throwdowns in the morning.”
England have not confirmed Woakes’ injury and he will go for further scans after this match for a full diagnosis. But he is considered highly unlikely to play again this summer and is already a major doubts for the Ashes starting on November 21.
“Clearly, he’s in a huge amount of pain having done what he’s done,” Root said. “It just shows, as we’ve seen from other guys in this series – [Rishabh] Pant batting with a broken foot, guys taking all sorts of blows here and there – but it means a huge amount to him.
“It just shows the character and the person that he’s willing to put his body on the line like that for England, and hopefully – well, hopefully he doesn’t have to, but if it does come to that – get us across the line and win us an incredible series.” It will be interesting to see which team will claim victory at The Oval.
