Chris Woakes finally broke silence on the delivery that caused Rishabh Pant’s toe fracture in the ongoing fourth Test in Manchester, with the England pacer stating he didn’t intend to bowl a yorker. The incident took place on the opening day at Old Trafford when the Indian vice-captain attempted a reverse sweep, but missed its line with the delivery landing directly on Pant’s right foot.
Pant, who was batting on 37, immediately went down grimacing in pain before being retired hurt. Immediate visuals showed Pant’s foot swelled up with blood oozing from the injured area. The 27-year-old, who couldn’t stand on his feet, later took painkillers to come out to bat and scored a half-century to propel India to 358 all in the first innings.
However, Pant won’t be able to keep wickets, with Dhruv Jurel donning the big gloves. Speaking to Sky Sports, Woakes admitted he tried to bowl slow but it came out full on Pant’s foot. “I didn’t think it would be a reverse sweep!” Woakes said after the second day’s play.
“I thought he might run at me, so I tried to bowl a slower ball; it came out full and hit him on the foot. It wasn’t intended to be a yorker, but the plan was to take the pace off,” added the England seamer.
Woakes, who took just seven wickets in the first three Tests against India, called Pant ‘unpredictable’ but stated it’s his gut feeling that made him bowl that line. “He’s quite unpredictable,” Woakes said.
“He doesn’t give you many cues, but sometimes you get a gut feeling that he’s about to do something. He’d played five or six deliveries normally, so I had a feeling…,” he added.
What’s next for Rishabh Pant against England?
Despite the fact that Pant came out to bat on the second day, Pant can’t keep wickets at the moment. In fact, he wasn’t able to stand on his foot but took painkillers to come out to bat at Old Trafford. Having said that, it is highly unlikely that Pant would feature in the fifth and final Test at The Oval starting from July 31.
With India’s tour of Bangladesh rescheduled to next year, Pant will get ample time to recover before the two-match home Test series against West Indies in October.
