English pacer Chris Woakes will undergo overnight scans after landing awkwardly on his left shoulder while fielding in the fifth Test match against India. Woakes ran after a ball from mid-off and failed to steady himself outside the boundary line, apparently due to his hand slipping on the wet outfield. He instantly clutched his shoulder, grimacing with his face down.
England’s medical team quickly tended to him, and within minutes, he was off the ground with his shoulder wrapped in his sweater. Although England did not reveal the details about his injury, he appeared to have dislocated his left shoulder. Which, if it is the case, means he is unlikely to bowl again in the Test match. Woakes is the only England bowler to have played all five matches this series, and his workload has been immense. In total, he has bowled 181 overs, the most by any bowler in this series, while taking 11 wickets at 52.18. His over tally is the highest he has bowled in a single series in his career.
The hosts had rested Brydon Carse and Jofra Archer for the fifth Test, and Ben Stokes was ruled out with what is likely to be a torn shoulder muscle. In their absence, Woakes was supposed to lead a heavily inexperienced attack including Josh Tongue, Jamie Overton, and Gus Atkinson, all of whom shared a total of 12 Test caps between them before this game.
“I don’t know too much about it, but it doesn’t look great,” Gus Atkinson said after the stumps on day one. “It’s a big shame, last game of the series, and when anyone gets injured, it’s a shame. I’m hoping it’s not too bad, and whatever it is, he’ll get full support from everyone.”
Woakes bowled 14 overs on the first day of the Oval Test and took a scalp for 46 runs. England had put all their trust, for this game, in their four-headed pace attack. Without Woakes, their plans would likely have taken a battering.
Atkinson is the next most experienced bowler in the XI, though he has only nine Test caps. He is playing his first game of the series, having recovered from a hamstring injury he picked up bowling against Zimbabwe in a one-off Test in May. Since then, he had been in rehabilitation with England’s medical team. On his return to the side, he managed two wickets on the first day, none of which were more stellar than his brilliant work in the field to run the Indian captain Shubman Gill out.
The right-armed pacer said he is ready to give his best, in case Woakes is refrained from bowling again in this Test.
“Definitely, I feel fresh, I feel good,” he said. “I know I’ve only got this one game to play, so I can push the limits a bit.”
The first day ended with the visitors trying to recover from a brief spurt of wickets that got them to 204 for 6. Karun Nair and Washington Sundar guided the side to safety, ending the day on equal terms for India.
