England all-rounder Chris Woakes says not going out to bat due to a dislocated shoulder against India on the final day of the fifth Test was something he never considered, even as he wondered if his career was at risk when he suffered the injury.
Woakes came out with his left hand wrapped in a sling and tucked inside his sweater at the fall of the penultimate wicket with the fifth Test — which India won narrowly — tantalisingly placed.
Woakes said he felt it was his “duty to do it for everyone” and that he is still gutted that England lost the game.
“I don’t know what it is. You just know you’re part of something bigger. It’s not just you that you’re playing for out there,” Woakes, awaiting further scans, told The Guardian.
“It’s your team and your teammates, all the hard work and the sacrifices they put in, the people watching at home and in the ground. You just feel a duty to do it for everyone. I’m 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 or whatever,” he added.
Woakes said it felt nice to walk out to a standing ovation but does not read much into his heroic act.
“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 revealed he began practising batting one-handed from the fourth day onwards with England assistant coach Marcus Trescothick.
“I defended one normally and, oh mate, it was agony. We soon worked out that a left-hander’s stance would shield the shoulder and at least allow me to sort of block with my top hand in control. I hit a few, missed a few, but it felt like the only way to survive,” he said.
( with PTI inputs )
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