Former England skipper Joe Root has confirmed that Chris Woakes, despite his injury concerns, is prepared to bat on Day 5 of the fifth Test against India at The Oval. England head into the final day needing just 35 more runs with four wickets remaining, setting the stage for a tense finish.
Woakes, who injured his shoulder while fielding on Day 1—believed to be a dislocation—is in significant pain but is reportedly ready to walk out and bat at No. 11 if the match situation demands it. He did not bat in the first innings but was seen in full gear in the dressing room late on Day 4, having practiced batting one-handed indoors.
“𝑯𝒆’𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒍-𝒊𝒏, 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒖𝒔. 𝑰𝒕’𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔, 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒈𝒖𝒚𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒖𝒕 𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆. 𝑯𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍𝒚, 𝒊𝒕 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔𝒏’𝒕 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕,” 𝑹𝒐𝒐𝒕 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒚’𝒔 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚. “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.”
Root’s Century Turns the Tide
Root was one of England’s standout performers on Day 4, scoring his 39th Test century in a high-pressure situation. His 105 off 152 deliveries, which included 12 boundaries, was pivotal in rescuing England from a precarious 106/3. Partnering with Harry Brook, Root stitched a 195-run stand that changed the course of the game.
Despite his injury, Woakes showed strong intent, preparing himself for a potential appearance on the final day. “I’m not sure. I’ve not seen him practice yet. You might get a better indication tomorrow if he has some throwdowns in the morning,” Root added when asked about Woakes’ readiness.
“It Means a Huge Amount to Him” – Root
Root drew parallels between Woakes’ commitment and that of Rishabh Pant, who had batted earlier in the series with a fractured foot. The former captain praised Chris Woakes for being willing to play through immense pain in a bid to help England win the series.
“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 – 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.”
With the series currently in the balance, all eyes will be on The Oval on Day 5 to see if England can seal a memorable win — and whether Chris Woakes will need to be their last line of defence with the bat.
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