Wonderful Woakes helps England thrash India in second Test
Scoring 100 and getting on the board at Lord’s is something that will stay with me forever. It was an amazing game CHRIS WOAKES
James Anderson and Stuart Broad shared eight wickets yesterday as England thrashed India by an innings and 159 runs in the second Test at Lord’s.
India, the world’s top-ranked Test side, failed to cope with overcast and swing-friendly conditions in both their innings. They were dismissed for 130 yesterday, having been skittled out for just 107 firsttime around.
Anderson, England’s all-time leading Test wicket-taker, finished with innings figures of 4-23 as he became the first bowler to take 100 Test wickets at Lord’s.
Allied to a first-innings return of five for 20, that meant Anderson finished with a match haul of 9-43, while Broad took 4-44 in the second innings.
“I am not very proud of the way we played,” said India captain Virat Kohli. “England deserved to win; we deserved to lose.”
Victory left England 2-0 up in this five-match series with three Tests to go.
Only once have a side come from 2-0 down to win a fivematch Test series, when a Don Bradman inspired Australia recovered to beat England in 1936/37.
This match was a personal triumph for Chris Woakes, who was recalled by England in place of Ben Stokes because of his fellow pace-bowling all-rounder’s ongoing trial for affray.
Woakes’s 137 not out, his maiden Test century, was the cornerstone of England’s 3967 declared. He also shared an England record sixth-wicket stand against India of 189 with Jonny Bairstow (93). That partnership helped England recover from a top-order collapse that saw them slump to 89 for four at lunch on the third day.
Man-of-the-match Woakes also had overall figures of 4-43.
“Scoring 100 and getting on the board at Lord’s is something that will stay with me forever,” Woakes said.
“I wish I’d soaked it up a bit more, it kind of went by in a flash. It was an amazing game.”
His century saw Woakes become just the fourth cricketer after England’s Gubby Allen and Ian Botham and Australia’s Keith Miller to have scored
a century and taken 10 or more wickets in a Test at Lord’s, with the Warwickshire star returning match figures of 11102 at against Pakistan two years ago.
Joe Root, the England captain, paid tribute to the all-rounder.
“On a number of occasions he’s shown how talented he is with the bat,” he said. “That’s down to hard work and I’m really chuffed to bits for him.
“Chris has been a big part of the squad for a long time and it’s great to see him take some rewards.”
Fellow bowler Broad added: “To play as calmly as he did, he almost looked like a number four. It was a beautiful hundred, but what a place to do it.”
Root went on to praise his bowling attack, who were also the driving force behind the victory at Edgbaston last week in the first Test of the series “It was a fantastic week, from the very first ball really,” he said. “The bowling unit was exceptional.
“We probably had the bowling conditions throughout but you’ve still go to ask the right questions of the batsmen and we did that once again.
“But we’ve not played the complete game yet, that’s something you’re always chasing as a side. Hopefully, that is somewhere in the next three games to come.”
The third Test of the series, which takes place in Southampton, starts on Saturday.