Chris Woakes rues ‘pretty frustrating' close calls on hard-fought opening day
That's stumps ✅
Good work from Chris Woakes and our bowling attack has put us in a strong position on Day 1 💪 pic.twitter.com/uit6LSOxn0
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 2, 2025
Ball-tracking suggested both deliveries would have clipped the bails but, with Bangladeshi official Sharfuddoula Saikat unmoved, each appeal was struck down on 'umpire's call'. Jaiswal went from 12 to 87 after being spared, with Nair adding another 26 following his reprieve.
Woakes, whose usual happy-go-lucky demeanour gave way to visible annoyance as the ill-fortune mounted up, said: 'There's probably been a few (grumpy) moments over the years, but that's right up there. Emotions run high when you're desperate to do well for the team.
'It was a pretty frustrating morning. We could easily have had them 30 for three. We thought if that pitch was going to do a bit it would first up and I think that could have been justified.
'You look at it and had those decisions gone our way the day looks completely different. A great day for us would have been 300 for seven.'
Chris Woakes on day one of the Second Rothesay Test (Martin Rickett/PA)
While Woakes remains supportive of the the referral system, he felt Nair had been particularly lucky after shouldering arms to a ball that jagged back in at him and would have grazed the top of off stump.
'I need to be careful because I've had some go my way over the years and, in general, DRS (has) been good for the game because a lot more right decisions are given,' he said.
'The only thing I would like to change is if a batter decides to leave the ball and it's hitting the stumps, I think that should be out, regardless if it's just clipping.'
The 36-year-old all-rounder sprung the same trap later on, persuading Nitish Kumar Reddy to offer no stroke at another ball that angled in and this time hit the stumps.
You can't leave those 😅
Chris Woakes clean bowls Nitish Kumar Reddy for 1️⃣
🇮🇳 2️⃣1️⃣1️⃣-5️⃣ pic.twitter.com/GFNlGlTJST
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 2, 2025
Woakes, whose figures of two for 59 did not do him justice, savoured a strong performance on home turf and spared a thought for his late father, who died last year.
'He's always on my mind. He loved his cricket and he would have loved this week,' he said.
'Across a career you don't get that many games at your home venue and is my fourth Test here. I've got a love for Warwickshire that goes deep – it's all I've ever known. I was here before this stand was.
'There's friends and family here and people behind the scenes who support you through the good times as well as the bad.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
9 hours ago
- The Guardian
Jofra Archer's return gives England a headache with India series on the line
Tradition usually dictates that after a batting lineup fails in the manner that England's largely did on a flat one at Edgbaston – four ducks among the top six, just two men passing 50, 157.4 overs batted to India's 234 – a bowler or two must pay the price. Given the short turnaround, and with admittedly some merit after shipping over 1,000 runs in a home Test for just the second time in history, this will come to pass at Lord's on Thursday. All signs point to Jofra Archer's return. A risk? Undoubtedly. After four years of injury struggles and a slow burn of a comeback in the white-ball formats, a mere 18 overs of priming in county cricket feels instinctively skinny. But it is a risk England can scarcely afford not to take given the swing in momentum that has occurred this past week. Much like the Steve Smith conundrum during Archer's debut series six years ago, Shubman Gill's Bradman-esque start to this series demands a fresh line of attack. Oh, and Jasprit Bumrah is about to augment an Indian bowling unit that outshone their hosts, not least when the Dukes ball was new. Who makes way is the question. Provided the medical staff can sufficiently patch him up in time, Chris Woakes should stay put. Had a couple of umpire's calls gone his way on the first morning, he could have easily walked off at stumps, setting the match on a different course. His record at Lord's is impressive, too, with 32 wickets at 13.92 runs apiece and an unbeaten 137 against India in 2018. At 36 years old, and with the successes of last winter only mildly offsetting a poor record overseas, Woakes is clearly not a long-term investment. But there is a major series on the line at 1-1 and his understudy, Sam Cook, would lengthen the tail. This leaves England with a likely choice between omitting Brydon Carse, spiteful but still battling toe issues, or Josh Tongue, a fast swing bowler too often used as a siege weapon. England will be tempted by a return for Gus Atkinson that leads to both dropping out but, despite his excellence at Lord's last summer, he has not played since May. Beyond the various possible bowling combinations, though, there is a legitimate question to be asked as to whether that traditional response to defeat should be flipped and see the batting refreshed. And it is here where England's thoughts should turn to another son of Barbados in Jacob Bethell: a 21-year-old batter without a professional century, granted, but a talent about whom there appears very little doubt. Bethell's retention felt a given at the end of the win in New Zealand late last year, with Brendon McCullum, the head coach, hinting heavily at this with gooey eyes following an impressive start to his Test career. It was not just the left-hander's three half-centuries, including a near-miss 96 in Wellington, but rather the ice running through his veins; a simple yet secure backfoot technique that looked made for the top level. So what changed? Before his debut in Christchurch, Bethell had been picked up in the Indian Premier League auction and with the tournament's primacy apparently enshrined by all cricket boards – a different debate – England promised to make their players available for the duration. It meant Bethell had to miss the Zimbabwe Test – those who say he chose to do so are mistaken – with Ollie Pope restored to the No 3 position. Sign up to The Spin Subscribe to our cricket newsletter for our writers' thoughts on the biggest stories and a review of the week's action after newsletter promotion Had Pope failed at Trent Bridge, the die would probably have been cast. But instead he forced what appeared a rethink with 171 in that low-key match (even if Ben Stokes tried to frame it otherwise afterwards). And having done so, England's vice-captain backed it up with a pretty sublime 106 at Headingley, walking out at four for one and playing with such impressive clarity amid something of an onslaught from the mighty Bumrah. It felt like a corner turned. But rather than triggering a purple patch, Pope has since only furthered concerns about his ability to be a steadying presence in a big series. After his overnight 100 was cut short the next day in Leeds – itself a mis-step in what is a series for hungry hippos – scores of eight, nought and 24 have followed. Akash Deep exploited a crooked, tense defence on Sunday following a frantic time of it the evening before. The alternative is Bethell in for Zak Crawley and after Edgbaston the opener could hardly feel aggrieved. Two footwork-devoid scores of 19 and nought, plus a clanger of a drop off Rishabh Pant, was the latest downturn in a wildly lurching career. Thing is, that little-and-large partnership with Ben Duckett is a functioning part of the side overall. Since coming together in 2022, no active opening pair has passed 50 more consistently. However, there is little to suggest that England are mulling a change in the top three. As shown by Gill being player of the match at Edgbaston, when Deep's 10-wicket haul was arguably the true difference between victory and a draw, it remains a batter's game.
BBC News
14 hours ago
- BBC News
England won't move 'world-class' Smith up order
Head coach Brendon McCullum says England will not be tempted to move Jamie Smith up the order - or bring in Jacob Bethell as a spin-bowling Smith made scores of 184 not out and 88 batting at number seven in England's heavy second-Test defeat by India at 21, has so far been overlooked during the India series, but his left-arm spin would be an option if England wanted to replace frontline off-spinner Shoaib Bashir or lengthen their said on Smith: "He's just developing at rapid speed, and from our point of view, we're very happy with him at number seven and with the gloves on." Asked whether Bethell could come in as an all-round option, the New Zealander added: "You never say never to do anything, right? But that's certainly not what we're looking at, at the moment, no."Smith averages 58.64 in the 12 Tests he has played since making his debut last 24-year-old is not the first-choice gloveman for his county Surrey, where he plays as a specialist batter at number swashbuckling unbeaten 184 he made against India in the second Test was an astonishing innings, a superb counter-attacking effort when England found themselves 84-5. It was both the highest score by an England wicketkeeper and number possible move for England would be to move Smith to number three, the position occupied by Ollie Pope. Though Pope made a century in the first-Test defeat of India, he can be inconsistent and could swap with Smith, sliding down the order and keeping wicket, as he has for England in six previous McCullum, himself a former Test keeper, drew comparisons between Smith and Australia legend Adam Gilchrist, who also batted at seven."He does look world class," said McCullum. "When we made the decision to bring Jamie Smith into Test cricket, we were hopeful that he'd be able to have that sort of impact, obviously in the middle, but also being able to have the power that he's got with the tail too."You wouldn't have done that to Gilchrist, so I don't think we should do that to Smith." Pope held off competition from Bethell for the number-three spot, although Bethell also offers the option of his left-arm has taken eight wickets in the India series, more than any other England bowler except Josh Tongue. However, the 21-year-old has been expensive - his wickets have cost almost 60 runs each and his economy is just below four an McCullum said England will not "crowbar" Bethell into the team."He's a batting option," added the coach. "He's the next one in if something happens."He wants to keep improving his bowling so that he can obviously impact the game across both the bat and ball. It's not something we'd look at from a tactical point of view to do."One player set to be included in the England XI for the third Test at Lord's, beginning on Thursday, is Jofra pace bowler, 30, has not played Test cricket in four years after a string of injuries, but seems likely to return as the home side freshen up their McCullum said Archer is "certainly" available, despite bowling only 18 overs on his first-class comeback for Sussex last week."Jofra is looking fit, he's looking strong, he's looking ready to go, and he'll come into calculations," he added."It's hugely exciting. He's buzzing as well. He's obviously been through his injuries and his time out of Test cricket."We all know what he's capable of achieving in Test cricket and we hope that when the opportunity does arrive for him, he's able to recapture and also improve on what he's been able to do already in that form of the game."
The Guardian
16 hours ago
- The Guardian
Jofra Archer poised to make England Test comeback against India at Lord's
Jofra Archer is poised to make his long-awaited comeback in the third Test against India this week, with Brendon McCullum, the England head coach, calling for Lord's to deliver a pitch that has pace, bounce and sideways movement. Archer, 30, joined the England squad at Edgbaston last week but was held back from what became a crushing 336-run defeat by Shubman Gill's tourists. And now at one-all in the series, England's seam attack seems likely to be refreshed amid a strong hint from McCullum that this means Archer's return. McCullum said: 'He will certainly be available for selection, and if you look at it, our seamers have gone two Tests on the spin and we have got a short turnaround before we head down to HQ. We'll let the dust settle on this one, but Jofra is looking fit, he's looking strong, he's looking ready to go, and he'll come into calculations.' As the scene of Archer's electric debut during the 2019 Ashes – five wickets and a fearsome battle with Steve Smith that saw Australia's master batter subbed out of the match with concussion – Lord's represents a poignant setting for his Test career to resume. But after a four-year absence triggered by elbow and lower back stress fractures, the great unknown is whether the bowler will be the same again. Since the last of his 13 Test caps in 2021, Archer has lived a diet of limited-overs cricket and has played just one first-class match for Sussex this season. McCullum added: 'We all know what he's capable of achieving in Test cricket and we hope that when the opportunity does arrive for him, he's able to recapture that and also improve on what he's been able to do already in that form of the game.' The seamer to make way is another question here, with arguably all three of England's incumbent quicks – Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse and Josh Tongue – in need of a breather after being out-bowled by Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj. India have also confirmed that Jasprit Bumrah will 'definitely' return, ramping up the challenge. Sign up to The Spin Subscribe to our cricket newsletter for our writers' thoughts on the biggest stories and a review of the week's action after newsletter promotion Whoever steps aside for Archer – and Jamie Overton and Gus Atkinson being part of the squad means that more than one change is possible – McCullum is hopeful that Karl McDermott, head groundsman at Lord's, produces a pitch 'with a bit more pace, a bit more bounce, and maybe a little bit of sideways, hopefully.' The subtext here was some disappointment with the pitch at Edgbaston, even if McCullum admitted he and captain Ben Stokes 'got it wrong' when deciding to bowl first. 'What we won't do is react too strongly to it,' the New Zealander added. 'We're a team that likes to stay really level and we know we've got a big challenge in a few days' [time].' Away from the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, the International Cricket Council has confirmed the appointment of Sanjog Gupta as its new chief executive. As first revealed by the Guardian two months ago, the head of cricket at ICC rights holders JioStar has replaced the outgoing Geoff Allardice after nearly four years in the role.
