England star exposes gruesome detail behind viral cricket image

News.com.au

9 hours ago

England's Chris Woakes entered cricket folklore when he bravely decided to walk to the crease with his arm in a sling.
The England pace bowler dislocated his left shoulder early in the fifth Test at The Oval in scenes that sent shockwaves through the English dressing room.
With England needing to draw or win the Test to wrap up the series, Woakes' injury put the Poms behind the eight ball.
On the final day and with England in serious strife, Woakes emerged from the dressing rooms with bat in hand and 17 runs required to win.
He followed the courageous efforts of Graeme Smith, Nathan Lyon, Dean Jones and Rick McCosker who have all batted under extreme duress.
Despite his herculean efforts, it wasn't to be for England as Mohammed Siraj guided India home to level the series up at 2-2.
While Siraj stole the limelight, it was Woakes who became the biggest talking point from the final day.
Now the England star has revealed gruesome details behind the nasty injury as his fate for the upcoming Ashes series hangs in the balance.
After dislocating his shoulder when landing awkwardly chasing down a ball heading towards the boundary rope, Woakes was taken into the dressing rooms with team doctor, Anita Biswas, and physio Ben Davies.
The duo spent the next half an hour attempting to get Woakes' shoulder back into place.
'It is a horrible feeling, your shoulder not where it should be and worrying it might never get back in. It felt like three hours but the medical staff were amazing,' Woakes said to The Guardian.
'I had this vape pen thing which tasted rank but took the edge off, pain-wise. First we tried me lying flat on my front on the bench and letting the arm hang down to do it. But the pain was too much to get into position.
'In the end it was just a case of lying on my back and Anita gradually straightening my arm and trying that way.
'We thought we had it in with a 'clunk' but then my pectoral muscle spasmed and rejected it.
'That was horrendous. Another 10 minutes or so, with her knee in my armpit, there was another 'clunk' and it was back it properly. It hurt but there was such a feeling of relief with it, too.'
England are set to head Down Under with the opening Ashes Test set to get underway on November 21 in Perth.
Woakes' availability however for the series will be determined by an upcoming appointment with a specialist.
'You obviously don't get that chance (to see a specialist) with a game going on, so that (availability for the Ashes) won't be known until later,' England skipper Ben Stokes said.
Stokes said he had no doubt Woakes would bat if required and claimed it emblematic of the unrelenting series.
'Unbelievable, but it was never going to be a question for him to be out there, he was in a lot of discomfort running between the wickets there,' Stokes said.
'We've had guys go out, Rishabh (Pant) going out and batting with a broken foot, Bash (Bashir) bowling and fielding with a broken finger.
'Then Chris going out there trying to get the team over the line with a recently dislocated shoulder.
'It just goes back to how much energy and effort has been put into the series by both teams, everyone has left a lot out on the grounds for their country this series.
'I didn't give him a chance to give him a tap on the back and say, 'Go well', but coming off there it was pretty obvious what was said.
'(I said) 'Good effort' and unbelievable, he just shrugged his shoulder and said, 'I wouldn't do anything else'.'