England seamer Chris Woakes, presently nursing a shoulder harm, has backed his captain Ben Stokes‘ stance within the ongoing debate over “harm substitutions” in Take a look at cricket.
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Do you agree with Ben Stokes’ stance on harm substitutions in Take a look at cricket?
India wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant had retired damage on the primary day of the drawn fourth Take a look at in Manchester however returned to bat the subsequent day, regardless of scans confirming a fracture in his proper foot.India head coach Gautam Gambhir subsequently advocated for the introduction of harm replacements in Checks—a suggestion Stokes had dismissed as “completely ridiculous.”Apparently, within the fifth Take a look at at The Oval, England discovered themselves in an identical state of affairs when Woakes suffered a fractured shoulder. Regardless of the harm, he got here out to bat on the ultimate day with England 9 wickets down and needing fewer than 20 runs to win.“I’m with Stokesy, to be sincere,” Woakes instructed The Guardian.“Having performed for 18 years, the sport is what it’s—you lose a participant, and as a staff, you need to discover a method. It makes you extra resilient and the staff stronger.”“I perceive why folks may really feel it’s vital in instances of freak accidents like mine, however there could be too many gray areas and loopholes.”
Woakes’ gritty choice to bat regardless of his harm has earned him widespread respect.“I imply, it’s not the best way you need to make the entrance web page—you’d reasonably or not it’s for 5 wickets or a century. There have been quite a lot of ups and downs since, however yeah, the love from the general public has helped,” he mentioned.“It’s so unusual to go from beginning a Take a look at week pondering, ‘One final push,’ to ending up on a physio’s desk questioning what the long run holds.”