Chris Woakes left frustrated with ‘Umpires Call’ decisions on Day 1 of Edgbaston Test

Day one of the ongoing Edgbaston Test between England and India ended with India finishing strongly at 310/5 in 85 overs. England’s bowlers worked hard throughout the day, with Chris Woakes being the only one to pick up more than one wicket. He dismissed KL Rahul early and later sent Nitish Kumar Reddy back to the pavilion.

However, Woakes had an excellent opening spell with the new ball and was unlucky not to have more wickets. In the first session, he trapped both Yashasvi Jaiswal and Karun Nair leg-before wicket (LBW), but the on-field umpire was unconvinced in both cases. 

England reviewed both decisions, but each time the ball was shown to be clipping the bails — resulting in “umpire’s call” verdicts. As the original decisions were not out, both batters survived.

These narrow calls left Woakes and the England team visibly frustrated. Speaking at the press conference after stumps on day one, Woakes admitted: “There’s probably been a few (grumpy) moments over the years, but that’s right up there. Emotions run high when you’re desperate to do well for the team.”

“A great day for us would have been 300 for seven.” - Woakes

Reflecting on how things could’ve gone differently, he added: “It was a pretty frustrating morning. We could easily have had them 30 for three. We thought if that pitch was going to do a bit, it would be first up, and I think that could have been justified. You look at it — had those decisions gone our way, the day looks completely different. A great day for us would have been 300 for seven.”

Woakes acknowledged the positive impact of the Decision Review System (DRS) on the game but raised concerns about situations where the batter doesn’t offer a shot, yet survives due to marginal umpire calls. 

Referring specifically to Karun Nair’s decision, he said: “I need to be careful because I’ve had some go my way over the years and, in general, DRS has been good for the game because a lot more right decisions are given. The only thing I would like to change is if a batter decides to leave the ball and it’s hitting the stumps, I think that should be out — regardless if it’s just clipping.”

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