Chris Woakes was the only England pacer to play all five Tests in the series.
Chris Woakes, the England fast bowler, acknowledged that he feared the worst after suffering a shoulder injury against India in the fifth and final Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025 at the Oval.
On a thrilling final day, when India triumphed by six runs, the all-rounder said it was encouraging to see the public and Indian teammates support him despite having a dislocated shoulder.
With one wicket left and England needing 17 runs, Woakes came out to bat. Despite practicing his one-handed stance before his innings, he did not face a pitch; instead, he ran with partner Gus Atkinson while enduring pain.
On the first day of the series, the 36-year-old, who is the only England seamer to have played all five Test matches, dislocated his left shoulder while diving to rescue a boundary. Although Woakes did not bat in England's first innings, the all-rounder courageously walked out with his arm in a sling under a sweater on the last day when the chips were down.
Woakes claimed that after he replied to one of his Instagram posts, Rishabh Pant, who had batted in the Manchester Test despite having a fractured foot, sent him a voice message. On the last day of an exciting Test series, Pant had posted a story about Woakes on his Instagram, praising the pacer's courage.
India captain Shubman Gill was seen having a word with Woakes after the match, appearing to praise his effort.
"I saw Rishabh [Pant] had put an image of me on Instagram with a salute emoji, so I replied, thanking him: 'Appreciate the love, and hope the foot is OK,' etc. He then sent me a voice note saying, 'I hope all is OK; good luck with the recovery, and I hope we meet again out there someday.' I obviously said sorry for the broken foot. Shubman said something like, 'That was incredibly brave,” Woakes told The Guardian.
"I told him, 'You've had an unbelievable series; well played, and credit to your team.' Both sets of players had been through the mill in the series and deserve credit for the show we put on. Both teams wanted the win, of course, but it does kind of feel fair that it was drawn,” Woakes added.
According to Woakes, he never doubted his ability to bat in the second innings when his team needed him. He said that when he first proposed to bat in the England first innings, coach Brendon McCullum had turned it down.
Nevertheless, Woakes was able to prepare himself to bat on the last day with the assistance of the team physician and physiotherapists.
"I am still gutted—devastated, really—that we couldn't get the fairytale. But I never considered not going out there, even if it had been 100 runs still to win. It was nice to have the ovation, and some of the Indian players came over to show their respect. But any other player would have done the same. You couldn't just call it off at nine wickets down,” he said.
Woakes claimed that the most agonizing run he made for Atkinson was the first one, leaving him to question whether his shoulder had popped out once more.
"The first one was the worst. All I'd taken was codeine, and it was just so sore. Instinct took over—even with my arm strapped down, I tried to run as you naturally do. I genuinely worried my shoulder had popped back out again; hence, you saw me throw my helmet off, rip the glove off with my teeth, and check it was OK," he said.
Joe Root and Harry Brook’s centuries had taken England to 301/3 in their chase of 374 runs. However, things spiraled when Brook fell to Akash Deep and Krishna dismissed Root.
Needing just 35 runs with four wickets in hand on the final day, England was blown away by Mohammed Siraj, who took three wickets, ending their innings at 367 and winning India the game by six runs.