Chris Woakes bats for England with ONE ARM as injured hero wears sling for dramatic final stand against India

Published: 06:40 EDT, 4 August 2025 | Updated: 06:51 EDT, 4 August 2025

A brave Chris Woakes took to the field with his left arm in a sling as England looked to seal a dramatic last-gasp win against India on Monday.

Woakes, who dislocated his shoulder while fielding during the fifth Test match between England and India on Thursday, had been ruled out of the remainder of the match and the upcoming Ashes tour to Australia.

But in a remarkable turn of events, India’s bowlers ramped up the stakes on Monday dismissing all of Jamie Smith, Jamie Overton and Josh Tongue, leaving England needing 17 runs to win with nine wickets gone.

The England pace bowler had arrived at The Oval with his arm in a sling on Monday, and hopes had been high that his side could get the job done without needing to send him in.

However, with Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna baying for blood, things took a dramatic turn, with Woakes walking down from the dressing room, supporting his injured arm in a sling to support fellow bowler Gus Atkinson out in the middle.

England tried to keep Atkinson on strike, with Woakes heroically running back and forth, grimacing in pain as he looked to guide his side to victory.

Don’t know how I feel about any of this right now. How is Chris Woakes feeling?!
Test cricket hey. This series has been superb and what a finish. Woakesy to hit the winning runs left handed? Nothing is out of the question! Siraj heroic. Doing plenty!

— Stuart Broad (@StuartBroad8) August 4, 2025