England captain Ben Stokes has firmly shut down the idea of allowing player substitutions in cricket, following Chris Woakes’ courageous appearance during the final moments of the fifth Test against India.
Woakes, who batted last with his arm in a sling after dislocating his shoulder earlier in the match, was visibly in pain as he sprinted between the wickets in a last-ditch effort to help teammate Gus Atkinson chase down 17 runs for victory.
England ultimately fell agonisingly short, losing by just six runs as the dramatic series ended in a 2-2 draw at The Oval.
Despite being replaced in the field for the remainder of the match after his injury, current cricket laws prohibit substitutes from batting or bowling.
England captain Ben Stokes has firmly shut down the idea of allowing player substitutions in cricket, following Chris Woakes’ courageous appearance during the final moments of the fifth Test against India
|PA
This left England with the choice of sending out an injured player or operating one short.
Stokes, who was ruled out of the final Test with his own shoulder problem, made it clear he sees no place for in-game replacements in cricket. His response was blunt.
“I don’t see it being a thing,” he said. “Sorry about this, but if somebody gets injured, tough s**t.”
This echoes his comments from the previous week, where he dismissed the suggestion of player swaps as 'absolutely ridiculous'.
He also argued it would be far too easy to exploit such a rule for strategic gain.
“I could’ve gone into this with a sore shoulder [saying] ‘I’ll give it a go, hopefully I’ll come through, but if I don’t then somebody comes in’,” he explained.
“Then you’re selecting a team tactically, and I think you could manipulate it. The injury ruled me out of this game.
"Maybe if we had this option [of subs], I could’ve said, ‘I know it’s not worth it, but if I do go down, somebody can come in’.
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Ben Stokes praised Chris Woakes for playing through the pain as England lost to India
|GETTY
"I couldn’t risk this. If I go down in the game, it ruins the make-up of the team.
"I’m still heavily against it. It’s just sod’s law it happened a week after I said it.”
Stokes also praised Woakes’ decision to step up under extreme circumstances, even if England didn't get the result his courage deserved.
“Unbelievable, yes, but it was never going to be a question,” he said.
“To go out there, running between the wickets… but we've had guys, Rishabh [Pant], broken foot, Bash [Shoaib Bashir] with a broken finger, and Chris going out there with a recently dislocated shoulder.
"It shows how much energy and effort has been put into this series.”
Though the series ended level, the commitment of players like Woakes, and the controversy surrounding the substitution debate, has left cricket fans with plenty to talk about.
England coach Brendon McCullum, meanwhile, admitted Woakes was 'sore'.
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Chris Woakes heroically played through the pain during day five of England's Test match with India at the Oval | GETTY"He is sore. Good on Woakesy for walking out there," he said.
"It is unbelievably brave but it sums up Woakesy.
"To push himself out there with one arm to get us over the line shows the type of bloke he is.
"We will get some more information in the coming days but we hope that it is not going to be too long a lay off."