On the first day of the second Test in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025, Chris Woakes expressed his unhappiness at numerous close umpiring calls that did not go England’s way. With England leading the five-match series 1-0, the high-stakes encounter began on Wednesday, July 2, at Edgbaston, Birmingham. Ben Stokes won the toss and chose to field first, and India ended the day at 310/5.
Given that Woakes had made his first appearance in the format since suffering an ankle injury earlier this year, it was expected that he wasn’t playing at his best in the first Test. He did, however, recover well in the second Test, delivering a sharp spell in the opening session. In the ninth over of the day, the 36-year-old took out the highly effective KL Rahul. He had the opportunity to take two more wickets during the first session, but he failed to do so.
When the umpire’s call indicated that the ball was merely brushing the top of the off-stump, Yashasvi Jaiswal survived an LBW appeal. Karun Nair was hit on the pads without providing a shot shortly after, but he also survived an LBW shout. Nair added a useful 31 while Yashasvi hammered a combative 87.
Yes, it is quite annoying. In the press conference following the day’s play, Woakes stated, “These are decisions that can go your way, but this is the game we play and we move on.”
If you hit the appropriate spots, there’s enough in it: Woakes
Woakes had outstanding statistics of 2/59 in 21 overs at the end of Day 1. In the last session, he took Nitish Kumar Reddy’s wicket. According to Woakes, bowlers can get adequate support if they bowl in the proper spots. He believed that if England ended Shubman Gill and Ravindra Jadeja’s overnight partnership early on Day 2, they would be in a fantastic position.
“The pitch is still strong. If you hit the appropriate spots, there’s enough in it. At regular intervals, we have wickets. We’re still in the game if we can break this stand early tomorrow,” Woakes stated.
Woakes also commended Indian captain Shubman’s performance on Day 1, saying the Punjab batsman’s 114 runs off 216 balls shown incredible tenacity and will.
“It was an amazing hundred.” He performed admirably for his squad. After absorbing pressure, he capitalised,” Woakes said.
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