Chris Woakes suffered an injury to his shoulder after sprawling to stop a boundary
5th Test, Day 1: India close on 204-6 (Nair 52* | Atkinson 2-98)
THE OVAL — The sight of a distraught Chris Woakes crumpled in a heap on the boundary edge after he appeared to dislocate his left shoulder late on the opening day of this final Test against India was the last thing England needed.
Coming a day after captain Ben Stokes was ruled out of this series finale with a shoulder injury that will sideline him for six to 10 weeks, Woakes’ slip chasing down a ball in the field will have ramifications not just for the remainder of this match but for this winter’s Ashes, too.
The sight of Stokes on the England balcony, head in hands as he contemplated his team having to get through the rest of this Test a man down, said it all.
An England statement at the close of play shed little light on the specifics of the injury, saying: “Chris Woakes will be assessed overnight. Likely to have a scan tonight. Further update tomorrow.”
But as Gus Atkinson admitted afterwards: “It doesn’t look great. I will be surprised if he takes any part in the game.”
At 36, Woakes has looked a fading force this summer, his 11 wickets in the series coming at 52.18 runs apiece.
Yet he is still England’s most experienced bowler, hence why he has been the only ever-present in the attack during this series.
Given the makeshift nature of the attack, with Stokes missing and Jofra Archer and Brydon Carse rested, England, 2-1 ahead in the series, look to be in big trouble for the remainder of this Test.
Atkinson has been impressive in his first Test since May after overcoming a hamstring injury, but Jamie Overton and Josh Tongue, aside from two unplayable deliveries that brought him wickets, were wayward.
How this rag-tag bunch take the remaining 14 Indian wickets needed to win this match from here is anyone’s guess.
Playing five Tests in a row in this compacted series that has been squeezed into just 44 days so that the majority of August can be dedicated to the Hundred was always a risk.
However, maybe England also saw Woakes as the most expendable of their frontline bowlers when weighing up the risk-reward ahead of Australia this winter.
There is no doubt that Woakes, if fit, travels for the tour despite a patchy overseas record that includes an average of 51.68 Down Under and the fact he doesn’t get in England’s best XI in Australian conditions.
That is because of his experience of two previous Ashes tours.
Losing him to injury would be a blow. Not in the same category as losing Archer, Carse or Stokes but a blow nonetheless.
If it is a dislocation, it is likely to rule him out for around three months.
That is enough time to be fit for the Ashes but it is more bad luck for England in a week where they really didn’t need it.
Atkinson’s performance, after the Surrey man took 2 for 31 and also ran out India captain Shubman Gill, was a rare piece of good news for the hosts.
And despite being erratic, Tongue showed glimpses of the bowler England hope he can consistently become as he produced two unbelievable deliveries to dismiss Sai Sudharsan and Ravindra Jadeja in a prolonged evening session that finished at 7.30pm.
Starting with 11 wides in his first over, Tongue’s opening spell was wayward in the extreme.
But a bowler who coach Brendon McCullum described as a “rough diamond” before handing him his Test debut against Ireland in the summer of 2023 lived up to that billing with those two magic balls that underlined his danger bowling around the wicket to left-handers.
It is why the 27-year-old, who dismissed David Warner twice as well as Usman Khawaja and Steve Smith in his sole Ashes Test at Lord’s two years ago, is a good chance to make Australia this winter.
The same cannot be said of Overton, playing only his second Test and whose 16 overs went for 66 runs.