Chris Woakes was the pick of the England attack after Ben Stokes again decided to put India in to bat, but despite picking up two wickets on his home ground, it could have been more
Chris Woakes cursed the fine margins of umpire’s call as England toiled to make headway on a flat deck at Edgbaston.
Woakes was the pick of England’s attack, taking 2-59 from 21 overs, after skipper Ben Stokes made another audacious call to bowl first in the second Rothesay Test – only for his bowlers to be picked off by Indian captain Shubman Gill’s superb unbeaten 114.
India’s 310-5 could have been a different story if two borderline reviews had gone England;’s way in his immaculate new-ball spell. One of the calls reprieved Karun Nair, who was offering no shot.
As an Aston Villa fan, Woakes is familiar with the vagaries of VAR in football, but he admitted: “Umpire’s call is there for a reason but It’s just frustrating because if those wickets go your way and it’s 30-3, you are into the middle order with the ball hard and new.
“In general, DRS (Decision Review System) has been good for the game and a lot more decisions are given (correctly).
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“The one thing I would have different is that when a batsman leaves the ball, and it’s shown it’s clipping the stumps, it should be given out regardless!”
Woakes toed the party line and insisted England players were in unanimous accord with Stokes choosing to bowl first, as he did at Headingley last month, saying: “It’s a decision we commit to, and once it’s made we all buy into it.
“It would have been a great day if it had finished 300-7 because it’s a very good batting surface. Had those decisions gone our way, the day looks completely different.
“I bowled OK, got some wickets and could have had some more. It was a tiring day. I’m sure I’ll feel it in the morning but I thought we stuck to the task well.
“After lunch it was flat and there was not much to work with. You have to give credit to Shubman Gill who batted well. He looked in control pretty much throughout.”
Gill became only the ninth visiting captain to score centuries in the first two Tests of a series in England – the first was Aussie deity Don Bradman back in 1938.
Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, who made an assured 87, paid tribute to Gill’s innings, saying: “The way he’s been batting has been amazing. He is very clear in his head what he wants to do.”