England star calls for instant rule change after frustrations during India clash
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).
'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.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
18 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Wimbledon diary: Tarvet's prize money mystery and Bear Grylls in the box
When Oliver Tarvet revealed that he would be unable to accept the vast majority of the £99,000 in prize money he earned for reaching the second round here because, as a US college student, he is still an amateur, the fairness of the rules was widely questioned. But what happens to that money, now that Tarvet can't accept it? Just because Tarvet can't take it, Wimbledon can't just give it to charity, for example. Contrary to popular suggestion, the cash does not get put into a fund for a lavish staff Christmas party at the All England Club. Instead, it goes back into the overall pot and will form part of the surplus profit from the Championships, 90% of which will be handed to the LTA. Last year, the LTA received £50.4m in total from Wimbledon, so Tarvet's decision to stay on at college means British tennis will benefit even more than usual. Some players this week have been suggesting that the courts are slower than usual this year, a topic of discussion that always throws up some confusion, not least since players can be the worst judges of all when it comes to court speed. There's no doubt that the courts (and balls) have slowed in the past 25 years and the days of Boris Becker diving around the net are long gone. But serve and volley, contrary to popular opinion, is not quite dead yet. Maybe it was because he was enjoying himself so much against Dan Evans on Thursday, but Novak Djokovic served and volleyed six times, winning all six points. It can be done. The replacement of line judges by electronic line-calling has been widely appreciated by most players, but some appear to miss the old traditions. Corentin Moutet, the talented but volatile Frenchman, likes nothing more than a heated discussion but when one of his serves was called out, his incredulity quickly abated when he realised there was no one to argue with. When he asked the umpire if it was out, the reply was 'apparently', immediately dissipating any prospect of an escalation. Sign up to The Recap The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend's action after newsletter promotion The Royal Box included an eclectic mix of personalities on day four, from the actors Rory Kinnear and Niamh Cusack to the former home secretary William Hague, the former Undertones frontman-turned environmental campaigner Feargal Sharkey and Eliza Manningham-Buller, the former head of MI5. Also in the box was Bear Grylls, the adventurer and TV personality. Grylls was part of a panel discussion at Wimbledon this morning looking at 'how we maximise our platforms using sport and entertainment to inspire action on protecting nature'. Grylls, by the way, once made Roger Federer eat fish eyeballs in the Swiss Alps.
South Wales Guardian
19 minutes ago
- South Wales Guardian
Shubman Gill shines and shatters records as India make England toil at Edgbaston
At tea on Thursday evening Gill was in his element on 265 not out, not just a career-best knock but also the highest ever score by an Indian batter on English soil and the most by an India captain. Having assumed the fabled number four slot once held by the great Sachin Tendulkar and most recently by fellow A-lister Virat Kohli, Gill removed any question marks about his ability to shoulder the burden of expectation. It's Tea on Day 2 of the 2nd Test! #TeamIndia power along to 564/7, with captain Shubman Gill marching to 2⃣6⃣5⃣ 👌 👌 Third session of the Day to begin 🔜 Updates ▶️ | @ShubmanGill — BCCI (@BCCI) July 3, 2025 It was a torrid day for Ben Stokes' men, put in to field by their skipper in attempt to recreate the pattern of last week's win at Headingley. By tea they had shipped 254 runs in return for two consolation wickets, Josh Tongue bouncing Ravindra Jadeja out for 89 just before lunch and part-time spinner Joe Root bowling Washington Sundar for 42 deep in the afternoon session. Both men played handy supporting roles to the exemplary Gill, who led stands of 203 and 144 in a princely performance. England have made a habit of pulling unlikely wins out of unpromising positions but their chances of changing the course of this Test already appear dim and distant with more than three full days to play. Gill started play with 114 already under his belt and was in no mood to give it away on a pitch that was playing straighter and truer by the moment. Ben Stokes took the new ball alongside Chris Woakes but neither man was able to summon any danger, an ominous warning about the run-fest that was about to unfold. Jadeja eased to his ninth fifty against England and Gill had soon surpassed the 147 he made in last week's series opener in Leeds. A steady trickle of boundaries gave the scoring rate a bump, Jadeja punching back-to-back fours off Stokes and Gill taking a liking to Brydon Carse after he entered the fray. With a wafer thin margin of error for the bowlers, Carse found himself driven hard when he strayed too full and pulled round the corner when he dug in short. England were keeping tabs on Jadeja's footwork, seemingly concerned about creating some additional rough for his own off-spin later in the game, but there was no formal intervention from the umpires. Their own spinner, Shoaib Bashir, was not finding much joy and found himself clattered for two sixes in an over as he experimented with changes in pace and a lesser spotted 'carrom ball'. Just when it seemed like England had nowhere to go, Tongue found just enough bounce to draw the error, Jadeja springing into evasive action and popping a catch to Jamie Smith. Sundar's nervy start against Tongue gave England false hope of wrapping the innings up and they soon realised he was in for a long stay. They became visibly weary in the middle session, which saw 145 added to the total and a handful of signs that they were losing grip. At one stage Root and Zak Crawley collided in an unsuccessful attempt to cut off one of Gill's 30 fours, part-timer Harry Brook served up five overs of inelegant medium-pace and a clearly fatigued Carse saw four byes skip through Smith's legs as he dragged one wearily down the leg side. Gill's 200 came in 311 balls and the data showed a false shot rating of just five per cent. His next 50 was the quickest of the lot, comprising just 37 balls. Root hit Sundar's off stump with a neat off-break but his stony-faced celebration told the story of the day.
The Independent
19 minutes ago
- The Independent
Stars return to Royal Box as Wimbledon welcomes back the sunshine
Celebrities were back in the Royal Box on Thursday as Wimbledon bounced back from a rainy midweek spell with sunshine and a packed schedule on day four. Blue skies and 24C temperatures returned to the All England Club after a soggy Wednesday, with fans quick to swap ponchos for sunhats and take advantage of ideal conditions on court. Among the guests in the Royal Box were adventurer Bear Grylls, broadcaster Sir Chris Bryant and actor Rory Kinnear. Former Dragons' Den star Deborah Meaden and comedian Clive Anderson were also spotted taking in the action on Centre Court. Musician-turned-environmentalist Feargal Sharkey was seated alongside Dutch tennis legend Betty Stove, who turned 80 in April and famously reached three Wimbledon finals in 1977. They were joined by a host of sporting figures including former England rugby coach Sir Clive Woodward, Olympic sprinter Donna Fraser, and incoming Lawn Tennis Association chairman William Jackson. Prince Michael of Kent led the royal contingent. The stars were there to see Novak Djokovic face off against British Dan Evans on Centre Court, before Iga Swiatek takes on American qualifier Caty McNally. Top seed Jannik Sinner took on Aleksandar Vukic of Australia on No 1 Court, followed by Mirra Andreeva's match against Italy's Lucia Bronzetti. Later in the day, Maria Sakkari is scheduled to play 2022 champion Elena Rybakina, and British hope Jack Draper will face former US Open winner Marin Cilic.
