England's seam-bowling all-rounder Chris Woakes might not have played a Test in more than a year but made a stunning comeback in the ongoing fourth Test against India on Thursday (September 2).
Bowling at a slightly quicker pace, Woakes claimed four wickets (4/55 from 15 overs) to help England restrict Team India for 191 in their first innings on Day 1 to gain the upper hand in the ongoing fourth Test at The Oval. He and Ollie Robinson shared seven wickets in between them on Thursday.
After his brilliant performance on day 1 at The Oval, the 32-year-old pacer said it was worth the wait, as he was elated to deliver on his comeback in whites after having had a frustrating time of late.
He was England’s most deceptive bowler towards the backend of summer 2020, but the Warwickshire pacer had to sit out for more than a year – first missed the Test series in Sri Lanka after he was found to be in close contact with Moeen Ali who had tested positive for COVID-19, and then went on to miss the first two Tests in India as per England's rotation policy to tackle the bubble fatigue.
After that, Woakes met with a freak accident at home, slipped down the stairs, and injured his heel, and he had to spend the time off the field to re-groove into prime bowling shape before the Oval Test.
Woakes told reporters, “It was great to be back in whites, winning the toss, and bowling India out for 191 was very pleasing. I was desperate to play cricket. It's been a bit tricky coming back from a heel injury. I was watching from home, always wanting to be a part of the series.”
He added, “It's been a weird year, been up and down, caught in isolation then in summer picked up a niggle. It was worth the wait and I really enjoyed it. Not having played a huge amount of red ball, I was actually focused on doing what I do well which obviously is taking the ball away from the right-hander and trying to get some movement there. Thankfully the surface responded well.”
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Meanwhile, India fought back in the last hour of the day as Jasprit Bumrah scalped two quick wickets of Rory Burns (5) and Haseeb Hameed (0) before Umesh Yadav got the key wicket of the in-form Joe Root (21), as England (53/3) is trailing by 138 runs against India.
Woakes signed off by saying, “Obviously we wouldn't have liked to lose three tonight, including that of Joe. It was a good wicket. Hopefully, we will bat well tomorrow and get past their score. Tomorrow is going to be a big day for us.”
(With PTI Inputs)
