‘You just need to dedicate yourself to the plan you’ve chosen.’ – Chris Woakes defends England’s approach in the face of tail

In the second Test of the series at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, England all-rounder Chris Woakes defended Ben Stokes’ choice to drop back against Joshua de Silva in an effort to bowl more against Shamar Joseph, the last man standing. Joseph’s aggressive style of cricket helped West Indies gain an early lead in the contest as they were 386/9 and about to collapse. Woakes later defended England’s methods against criticism from former cricketer Michael Vaughan.

On the third day of the ongoing contest, Joshua was leading the attack at bat. As the game came to a close, England played it easy against him since they wanted to get Shamar’s wicket. The 24-year-old blasted 33 runs off of 27 deliveries, including two enormous sixes, so it didn’t assist the Three Lions. Following a disastrous batting display in the opening Test, their 71-run partnership enabled the West Indies recover.

Chris Woakes praised the players for their bold play, saying they weren’t expecting the number 11 to hammer sixes.

He continued by saying that they wanted to stick to the plan in spite of the hitting and that they eventually succeeded in the 112th over.

It’s a time when issues may arise. All you need to do is pledge to follow through on your strategy. It won’t be flawless all the time. As a bowler, it’s simple to assume you’re not attempting to remove the set batsman when the field is out and to focus only on the number 11. However, you don’t want to give up too many simple limits, Woakes was.

The number eleven doesn’t usually hit a few into the stands. They performed admirably, I must say. We persevered long enough to reap the benefits, he continued.

Also Read: Harry Brook 71* and Ben Duckett 76 Strong edge for England vs the West Indies

England is leading by 207 runs at the end of Day 3. Ollie Pope scored 51 runs, while Ben Duckett scored 76. Harry Brook, a young player, was amazing, hitting 71* runs off 78 balls.