Chris Woakes was so caught up with his ton that he forgot a celebration

England all-rounder Chris Woakes got a recall into the Test side to replace Ben Stokes. He made the comeback following an injury and the 29-year-old slammed his first international hundred at Lord’s to fulfil his “boyhood dream” of raising the bat to a standing ovation at the iconic venue.

Woakes was unbeaten on 120 at stumps on Day 3 and it not only helped England recover from 131 for 5 but also piled the lead over India who were shot out for 107 in their first innings. The right-hander put on 189 runs with Jonny Bairstow (93) for the sixth wicket which made it unlikely that England would bat again in this Test. And the century came after Woakes grabbed two wickets, including the prized one of Indian captain Virat Kohli.

Woakes said later that he was engrossed with the joy that came with the scoring of his maiden international hundred that it never occurred to him to carry out a ‘baby’ celebration for the birth of his daughter Laila in July.

“The lads did ask me actually where was the baby celebration – but for some reason, that wasn’t really on my mind. I didn’t really have any ideas of how I was going to celebrate, and didn’t really know how to – but I’m obviously just delighted. It’s still a bit of a blur. It seems to go so fast – 30 seconds of raising your bat feels literally like a blink of the eye,” Woakes said, after the end of day’s play.

Cherishing a “boyhood dream”

The cricketer, who made his Test debut five years back, also said that hitting a century at Lord’s was special. “But it’s an incredible feeling. That feeling of raising your bat to a standing ovation at Lord’s is a bit of a boyhood dream,” he said.

Woakes admitted that life has changed for him and his family since Laila was born but he would be surely believing now that his angel has brought an entire new good luck for him as far as cricket is concerned.

“Yes, it has been a little bit different – a little bit of a shock to the system, but obviously fantastic as well. It certainly puts things in perspective, when you have a bad day at the cricket and go home,” he said.

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