‘Tough S***, Deal With It’- Ben Stokes continues his opposition to injury subs despite Chris Woakes incident

Even though Chris Woakes had to bat on day five at The Oval due to a dislocated shoulder, England captain Ben Stokes has stated his persistent opposition to injury substitutions being used in international cricket.

After his team lost in a thrilling conclusion to the last Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, Stokes was addressing the post-play press conference.

With four wickets remaining and 35 runs needed on day five, Mohammed Siraj hit his third delivery of the day into Jamie Smith's edge, and Dhruv Jurel deservedly took the catch. Before Josh Tongue was bowled by Prasidh Krishna, Siraj dismissed Jamie Overton in his subsequent over.

England was left with one wicket left, and Woakes, who was injured, would have to bat with a seriously injured shoulder and 17 runs needed to win.

In the opening innings of the game, Woakes reportedly dislocated his shoulder after diving to stop a boundary. He didn't bat in England's opening innings and didn't play any more on the field or with the ball.

But to thunderous cheers from the fans, he came out to bat with his left arm in a sling. However, Woakes was bowled by Mohammed Siraj's beauty after Gus Atkinson made sure he remained on strike to face every delivery; thus, he did not face a ball.

"I don't see it [injury substitutes] being a thing.” - Ben Stokes

Except for concussions, international cricket does not permit injury substitutions after a match has begun. Proposals to enact such a regulation have been gathering steam to stop athletes from feeling pressured to play through discomfort, which frequently exacerbates injuries.

They were created after Rishabh Pant batted with a broken foot during the fourth Test in Manchester earlier in this series. However, Ben Stokes, the England captain, opposed the idea and called it ‘ridiculous.’

Stokes reaffirmed his earlier position when questioned by the media about whether Woakes' injury had altered his thoughts on injured substitutes.

“I don't see it [injury substitutes] being a thing. Sorry about this, but if someone gets injured, tough shit, deal with it. That's how we view it,” Stokes said in the post-match presser.

Due to a shoulder injury he suffered during the Old Trafford match, which ended three days before the game at The Oval began, Stokes was unable to participate in the fifth Test.

'Nah, this is worth it.'- Ben Stokes on if he’d want an injury substitute for his injury

Speaking about his injuries, he admitted that he might have put his shoulder in danger to win the series if injured substitutions had been an option.

"I could have gone into this game knowing I had a sore shoulder and knowing I'll give it a go. Hopefully, I'll come through, but if I don't, I know I've got someone else who can come in and replace me. You select an XI, and it's actually tactical, so I feel like there is that room where you could actually manipulate it a bit [with injury substitutes].

The injury that I did have ruled me out of this game, but maybe if we did have that option in a pretty big game in a series, I could have gone, 'Nah, this is worth it.' If I do go down, at least I've got someone else to come in. Part of that was that I can't risk doing this long term, but also, if I do go down in this game, then that completely ruins the whole make-up of the team. So, I'm still heavily against it... My view has not changed,” Stokes said.

Stokes' views on injury substitutions are different from those of Gautam Gambhir, the head coach of India, who declared following the Manchester Test that he was "all for" the change.

Stay updated with the latest cricket news, match insights, and exclusive updates at BetBarter and download the BetBarter app to start betting today!