England fear Chris Woakes will miss Ashes after suffering dislocated shoulder
He immediately looked in serious trouble and after assessing the problem overnight England ruled him out of the remaining four days. The PA news agency understands their concerns run much deeper than that, though, and it is not impossible that the 36-year-old all-rounder has played his last Test.
Chris Woakes is currently off the field after sustaining a suspected shoulder injury while diving for the ball by the boundary.
Wishing you all the best, Woakesy 👊 pic.twitter.com/4Hhf0iZyIB
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 31, 2025
It is not yet known whether surgery is required but if that is the case he could be facing a lay-off of between four and six months, ending any chance of making the trip to Australia.
That would mean he will be 37 by the time he is next available for Test cricket and the selectors may well be ready to look elsewhere. In the nearer term, should Woakes not make the trip Down Under, there could be fresh hope for Sam Cook and Matthew Potts, two seamers who have fallen down the pecking order this summer.
England left some wriggle room for Woakes to bat if absolutely required over the coming days, suggesting he will remain with the team for observation, but it is hard to imagine him being asked to do so in anything short of an emergency.
A team spokesperson said: 'England seamer Chris Woakes will continue to be monitored throughout the remainder of the fifth Rothesay Test at the Kia Oval, following a left shoulder injury sustained on day one of the match against India.
'At this stage, the injury has ruled him out of any further participation in the Test. A further assessment will be conducted at the conclusion of the series.'
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Daily Mail
8 hours ago
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Only finishing as they started will do for England now. Just as in Leeds six weeks ago, they are required to complete their second biggest Test chase in history to defeat India. Should the pursuit of 374 be successful - of which 50 were chipped off for the final-over loss of Zak Crawley on the third evening - it will be in keeping with a feisty, must-watch series that has only strengthened Test cricket's claim to being the ultimate format of the game. Drama has lurked round every corner, so don't rule out Chris Woakes - already resigned to missing the Ashes with a dislocated shoulder - walking to the crease to bat one-handed with the winning runs in sight late this evening. At times, it has felt like this contest has been slipping through England's fingers. Literally so, with six dropped chances. Metaphorically when Washington Sundar was bashing a team undermanned by Woakes' loss to all parts of Kennington and beyond. 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The Guardian
8 hours ago
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The Guardian
9 hours ago
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Fielding is an attitude, Shane Warne would often say. To the extent it could be tempting at times to conclude Shane Warne didn't have 37 different nuggets of well-thumbed cricketing wisdom, he just said the same nugget of well-thumbed cricketing wisdom 37 times. But Warne was of course right, as he was about all cricket things, as you might expect from any self-respecting genius-level leg-spin, poker-playing, bikini-magnate-squiring wunderkind. What attitude was expressed by England's fielding on day three of this fine-margins final Test, as India batted their way to a lead of 373? What kind of vibe, aura, energy is being projected by a unit that dropped a total of six catches in India's second innings at the Oval, the most by any England team in almost 20 years? Judging by the current range of go-tos, the obvious choices range between super-cool, jocular moralising and inexplicably pissy. Maybe England were just jaded by repetition. 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This was defined by his super-strength square cut, which ranges from the beautifully sculpted lift, arching his body into an S and deflecting over slips and sometimes the rope; and the more violent sabre-slashing fours and twos. Deep kept him company, standing tall and clumping it like a tribute Crawley act. The last time he'd got past seven was December 2024 in Brisbane. Shubman Gill glittered briefly. His dismissal, as in the first innings, seemed to be a function of simply being too good to score runs, dangerously in form, too perfect, upright, balletic for this world. Gill was lbw playing across a straight one and reviewed because it seemed impossible he hadn't actually hit it. England stuck to the task gamely but were walloped on to the back foot by Washington Sundar's stunning 39 ball 50, Sundar taking the drop out of the equation by lifting some short stuff with the new ball into the crowd. Why did this happen? There is always talk of the 'bad seeing ground'. But this has not notably been the case here. You cannot do that, Ben Stokes! That was on a dark day at the Oval. Seemed OK. We also know that nobody wants to drop a catch. Is this helpful? Nobody wants to nick behind either, or averge 29.9 as an opener. Cricket is basically made out of things nobody wants to do. Take those away and what you have left is: no cricket. But England are less focused in the field without Stokes. That bristling ginger-bearded superego at cover does make a difference, real and intangible. There were other moments of sloppiness. Jamie Smith has had to perform a rhythmic gymnastics routine behind the stumps. Overton bowling outside off stump with five fielders on the leg side. Is the problem here a drop? Plus England look understandably tired. It is an overlooked aspect of the modern schedule that, while five Test series have always happened, players often do this now with zero cricket either side, a sudden brain-mangling burst plonked between periods of rest. The schedule is year-round. Levels of focus, intensity and load come and go. Players are rested, then hammered. Nobody really knows what the effects of this are on body, sinews and mental reserves. England took the final Indian wicket here in non-drop double fielder mode, Pope and Crawley circling together under Sundar's skied hoick, reaching up and taking it, somehow, in their combined 20 fingers. There will be a result now with two days left and England needing 324 runs to win with nine wickets remaining. By the end of Saturday those extra 127 runs felt like a product of gravity, fatigue and wear-and-tear. Also, it has to be said, collateral to a great but deeply gruelling series.
