Chris Woakes Hails Ben Stokes As He Recovers Strain To Bowl Against Pakistan

England all-rounder Chris Woakes has hailed Ben Stokes for recovering from a strain and bowling in the second innings of the first Test against Pakistan. Ben Stokes had not bowled in the first innings after aggravating a quad strain in the West Indies series. However, her returned strongly, to pick up two quick wickets in the final hour of the play on Day 3.

Stokes dismissed Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Afridi as his bowling figures read 2/11 at the end of the day. His teammate Woakes said that he had no idea if he was ready to bowl but with Ben Stokes miracles are possible.

“I had no idea if he was ready to bowl, but I’m not surprised that he can do what he does,” Woakes said. “He’s Ben Stokes, he’s capable of miracles.

“The longer he’s had to recover has helped, but it’s nice to see him back with a ball in hand. He’s got a bit of a golden arm, he always has a knack of picking up wickets, and when you’re in a bit of a dogfight he’s the sort of player you want in your team. Always putting his hand up and giving 110%, and he certainly did that in picking up a couple of quick wickets.”

Stokes had displayed brilliant performance in the series against the West Indies. His knock at Old Trafford against the West Indies displayed his maturity. Ben Stokes, the attacking all-rounder, adjusted his game and scored his slowest Test century.

For most of the time Ben Stokes was batting at an average of nearly 35 which well complimented his patient partner Dom Sibley as they forged a key partnership. Stokes lost his wicket to Kemar Roach for 176 runs. His innings was laced with 17 boundaries and two hits over the fence as it helped the Englishmen post a dominating total of 469/9 before declaring their innings.