Former England captain Nasser Hussain hailed all-rounder Chris Woakes after the hosts won the third Ashes Test against Australia by three wickets at Leeds, Headingley. Woakes scored an unbeaten knock of 32 runs in the second innings on Sunday to help England chase down 251 runs.
England all-rounder added a crucial alliance of 59 runs with Harry Brook for the seventh wicket after the hosts found themselves in a tricky situation at 171-6.
On the other hand, Woakes, who was making a return to the team after a long time, scalped a total of six wickets in the match. The 34-year-old returned with figures of 3-73 in the first innings whereas he registered figures of 3-68 in the second dig.
In his column for Daily Mail, Nasser Hussain wrote, “When I saw Chris Woakes coming out to bat with England still requiring 80 runs and just four wickets standing, my immediate thought was: This is not done.”
“Australia were on top at that stage but Woakes is a fabulous all-round cricketer, someone who can play positively without being gung-ho and he changed the momentum of the match once more. Yes, he swayed and backed away a little bit, but I don’t mind the lower order playing some shots as it can put the opposition on the back foot.”
Woakes was dismissed after scoring 10 runs in the first essay and Hussain gave credit to the all-rounder for learning from his mistake.
“Crucially, he also showed he’d learned from his mistake of the first innings when he fatally hooked Mitchell Starc to the biggest boundary on the ground despite several fielders being posted there, by getting to the off-side of the ball and fending it for singles. Everything about that seventh-wicket partnership of 59 runs with Harry Brook was spot on, in fact.”
The renowned commentator added England has a bowling attack, which has the skills to take 20 wickets. Mark Wood, Chris Woakes, and Stuart Broad were all right on the money in the third Test.
“Equally, this match showed that England has a bowling unit – Woakes very much at the fore – that can secure 20 wickets given the right conditions. The performances from Stuart Broad, Mark Wood, and Woakes to dismiss Australia on the third evening were phenomenal.”
The fourth Ashes Test will be played at Old Trafford from 19th July onwards.
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