England vs Pakistan: 'We feel it’s even, 50-50. We’ve got ourselves back into the Test match,' says Chris Woakes
Now Woakes is targeting a victory that would hand England a 2-1 lead heading into next week’s final Test at The Oval
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Chris Woakes believes England can win the third Test against Pakistan after captain Alastair Cook and Alex Hales’ first century opening stand together wiped out a 103-run first-innings deficit on day three in Birmingham.
The opening pair, playing together in their 10th Test, led the hosts to 120 without loss at the close and rescued their team from a potentially perilous position. Now Woakes is targeting a victory that would hand England a 2-1 lead heading into next week’s final Test at The Oval.
He said: “That stand at the end of the day was massive. It was not only a really important partnership for us as a team but also for those two as an opening stand.
“Going into the innings 103 runs behind is tough and for them to cancel it out the way they have is crucial and great for the team.
“It gives us a great chance of setting up this Test match. Ten wickets in hand is crucial and hopefully we can kick on.
“We feel it’s even, 50-50. We’ve got ourselves back into the Test match - there’s still a lot of hard work to do. But it’s great we’ve given ourselves that opportunity.”
Woakes also played down the significance of James Anderson being removed from England’s attack for the remainder of Pakistan’s first innings after receiving his third warning for running onto the protected area of the pitch.
“He’s striving hard for the team and trying to bowl as well as he can, which he has done ever so well over the years,” said Woakes.
“It’s just unfortunate I suppose. The umpires thought he was running on therefore they stuck to their guns. It didn’t hurt us too much as a team. We had them eight down at the time. It’s been a great day for us so that didn’t hurt us at all actually.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments