Watch: England pacer Chris Woakes forced to bowl spin
What's the story
In an unusual turn of events during the second day of the third Test between England and Sri Lanka in London, England's premier pacer Chris Woakes was seen bowling spin. This unexpected shift was necessitated by poor lighting conditions at the stadium. The situation arose following the run-out of Sri Lankan batter Dimuth Karunaratne, as dark clouds began to gather overhead.
Umpire's decision
Umpires deem light too low for pace bowling
The umpires were compelled to assess the light levels due to the worsening weather conditions. They subsequently informed England skipper Ollie Pope that the light was insufficient for pace bowling. This left Woakes, who had already bowled four balls in his over, with no choice but to switch to spin bowling in order to complete his six-ball quota.
Twitter Post
Here is the video!
STOP WHAT YOU'RE DOING! ⚠️
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) September 7, 2024
Bad light means Chris Woakes is bowling spin 😆 pic.twitter.com/TPYSnwXiEN
Team reaction
Woakes's spin bowling attempt amuses Root
Woakes's unexpected shift to spin bowling amused his teammate Joe Root, who is known for his part-time spin bowling skills. However, fellow pacer Gus Atkinson was spared from a similar fate as the umpires determined that the light levels had improved during the change of over. This decision allowed Atkinson to continue with his regular pace bowling.
Bowling struggle
Woakes struggles with spin bowling, concedes 6 runs
In a quick adaptation to the situation, Woakes was seen practicing his off-breaks on the outfield before resuming his spell. Despite these efforts, he struggled with his new bowling style and ended up delivering two dragged-down deliveries and two wide outswingers. This resulted in him conceding six runs during that over.
Match progress
Sri Lanka's recovery and England's 1st-innings total
Despite the unusual bowling incident, the match continued with Sri Lanka's captain Dhananjaya de Silva and Kamindu Mendis building a strong partnership. The visitors had collapsed to 93-5 before tea but managed to recover to 211-5 when poor light forced an early close. This left them trailing by 114 runs from England's first-innings total of 325, largely due to Ollie Pope's impressive 154.