A brave Chris Woakes took to the field with his left arm in a sling as England fell to a dramatic six-run defeat by India, with Shubman Gill’s side drawing the series 2-2 on Monday.
Woakes, who dislocated his shoulder while fielding during the fifth Test match between England and India on Thursday, had been ruled out of the remainder of the match and the upcoming Ashes tour to Australia.
But in a remarkable turn of events, India’s bowlers ramped up the stakes on Monday, dismissing all of Jamie Smith, Jamie Overton and Josh Tongue, leaving England needing 17 runs to win with nine wickets gone.
The England pace bowler had arrived at The Oval with his arm in a sling on Monday, and hopes had been high that his side could get the job done without needing to send him in.
However, with Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna baying for blood, things took a dramatic turn, with Woakes walking down from the dressing room, supporting his injured arm in a sling to support fellow bowler Gus Atkinson out in the middle.
His efforts were in vein, though, with Siraj sending a full delivery on to the base of Atkinson’s leg stump to deny England what would have been one of the most dramatic series victories.
England had tried to keep Atkinson on strike, with Woakes heroically running back and forth, grimacing in pain as he gave everything to keep his side in the match.
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