England blow as Woakes ruled out for rest of Test with shoulder injury
'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,' says an ECB statement. '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.'
Woakes' absence puts a lot of pressure on an England attack that already looked light in the absence of Ben Stokes – and makes it even more important that they take India's last four wickets at their earliest convenience. India will resume on 204 for 6 after an odd, stop-start first day in which England bowled dreadfully at times and magnificently at others.
The only consistent performer was Gus Atkinson, who bowled quite beautifully on his return to Test cricket. Atkinson's figures of 19-7-31-2 do not flatter him – not least because they don't acknowledge his crucial run out of Shubman Gill in the afternoon.
'I feel fresh, I feel good,' said Atkinson, whose workload will increase due to Woakes' injury. 'I know I've only got this one game to play so I can push the limits a bit.'
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