The sight of Chris Woakes emerging from the dressing room to walk gingerly down the stairs to the field of play at The Oval was one of pathos. He is not normally England’s No. 11 batter but, this time, injury dictated his position. Having fallen awkwardly and painfully on the third day in a valiant attempt to prevent a boundary being scored, he suffered a dislocated shoulder which prevented him from taking any further part in the match — until that moment, the last throw of the dice.
My vantage point at the top of the pavilion allowed me to watch England’s supporters rise to applaud his courage, their emotions raised by the fact that there was hope that their team might still win. Another 17 runs were required. In truth, Woakes cut a sad figure. His left shoulder had been heavily strapped across his chest in a sling underneath his pullover. His bat was held limply in his right hand. Surely it was inconceivable that he would have to or should be allowed to face a single delivery. So began a game of cat and mouse, the final sub-plot in a match packed full of them.
Woakes joined Gus Atkinson, who was eight not out and on strike. They had a long conversation. Shubman Gill, India’s inexperienced captain, directed his fielders with authority. They were sent deep to the boundary to persuade Atkinson to take a single. This was something he was unlikely to do, unless it was the last ball of the over. Instead, he needed to score in twos, fours or sixes, much easier to say than do. However, off the second ball of the 83rd over, he struck the ball toward the boundary, straight to a fielder, who was not standing on the boundary’s edge. Straining backwards, the ball passed through his hands and over the boundary for six runs, eliciting wild cheers from England supporters and groans from the Indians.
Atkinson swiped at the next three deliveries but failed to score. In order to keep the strike, he needed to take a single off the over’s final delivery. Gill brought in the fielders to try and stop that happening. Atkinson missed the ball, which went through to the wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel. Woakes was already on his way to striker’s end, running as best he could. Jurel rolled the ball towards the stumps, but the ball missed them and Woakes was home, to the delirium of English supporters and questioning looks from Indian fielders.
Ten runs were needed at the beginning of the 84th over. Atkinson managed two from the first ball, missed the next four and hit the sixth one for one, the field having been left deep, presumably for fear that Atkinson might score a boundary. Woakes grimaced in pain with each step that he had to make. The tension had now reached fever pitch. England needed seven runs to win, the field set deep to protect the boundary, which Atkinson needed to breach. This he tried to do off the first ball of Mohammed Siraj’s over, but missed and was bowled to begin India’s victory party. It was the narrowest-ever victory for India in a Test match and had been snatched from the jaws of defeat.
At 3:39 on the fourth day England had reached 301 for three wickets, largely thanks to a 194-run partnership between Joe Root and Harry Brook. Root delivered a masterclass in how to bat, a model for anyone watching live or on screen. Brook is supremely talented and, with Root, was winning the match for England. He had reached a century but, instead of reining in to guide his team to victory with another 73 runs required, he chose to go on the rampage; as if to say to India, I am going to crush you. He seems to have a self-destructive streak and here it came to the fore. In another attempt to smash a boundary, he succeeded only in skying the ball, to be caught, while losing control of his bat, which also went skywards.
This action is very much in the image of the English team’s philosophy of playing aggressive cricket at all times, of taking the attack to the opposition. This has provided entertaining, even reckless, cricket. Brook’s failed gamble opened the door for India, whose body language suggested that they had begun to wilt. Visibly buoyed, they wrested the advantage away from England. False shots by Jacob Bethel and, of all people, Root caused English hopes to falter.
In addition to the emotions generated by the passages of play, Root, on reaching his century, removed his helmet and pointed to the sky. This was in reference to Graham Thorpe, one of his mentors and coaches, whose life ended a year ago in a tragic manner. Funds had been raised during the match for a mental health awareness charity. Donors received a replica of the headband characteristically worn by Thorpe.
Root’s dismissal rendered England 337 for six. Shortly afterwards, deteriorating light and then rain caused the umpires to halt play. A lack of improvement in the conditions led to play being ended for the day. Cricket does have the capacity to infuriate with what appear to be overcautious delays to play by officials. On this occasion, given the tantalizing balance of the match, England needing 35 runs for victory and India four wickets, it seemed the right outcome. Who knows what the outcome would have been if play had been able to continue, compared with the drama which unfolded the following morning.
By common accord, this Test match and, probably, the whole series will be placed in the category of best ever. It went to the fifth day in all five Tests, the first time since 2014, and it may be seen on a par with the famous fifth Test against Australia in 2005.
Although the series was drawn 2-2, many non-English and, more than likely, most Indian observers and supporters regard India as the winners. A part of this judgment stems from the view that England tried to occupy the moral high ground in matters relating to “the spirit of cricket.” This was especially the case at Manchester where the English players belittled the Indians for refusing to accept the offer of a draw, so that two batters could complete centuries.
Certainly there has been acrimony in the heat of fierce contests. Players have pushed the laws and conditions of play to the limits. Their bodies have also been pushed to the limits. This is largely a function of cramming five Tests into the space of just over five weeks, as was also the case in 2024. The decision to do so is to enable the England and Wales Cricket Board to allocate the whole of August to The Hundred. It is little wonder that, already, several England players have withdrawn on fitness grounds.
There seems little chance that the schedules will be relaxed in the immediate future. In turn this has served to reignite the issue of injury substitutes in Test cricket. It is a polarizing issue with layers of complexity. England’s captain is dead set against the idea. It would be interesting to know how many people who agree with him may have wavered in their opinion when they witnessed Woakes taking the field in pain and discomfort, ultimately in a failed cause.
