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Although Chris Woakes found himself overshadowed in the Indian Premier League auction he was very much England’s hero in St Kitts.

England needed 234 to win but somehow found themselves in a very nervous position of 177 for 7. Not a disastrous position to be in but nevertheless a position that would require a calm head or two to come in and see out the victory. Woakes was that man to save the English team. Woakes recorded 47 not out to provide the vital runs needed for the two-wicket victory with seven deliveries remaining. England wasn’t only thankful for his batting contribution either. The all-rounder was also amongst the best of England’s bowlers claiming 2 for 37 from nine overs. An outstanding performance.

In addition to the obvious nature of Chris Woakes’ heroics, I don’t doubt that there’s another man who was very grateful for his high-quality performance. The only remaining batsman at England’s disposal was Jake Ball who had been forced off the field earlier on in the game due to sustaining a knee injury. Although we did find out after the game that if required Ball would have batted but this certainly wouldn’t have been an ideal situation for the England team. Woakes’ sterling performance came through 35 with Adil Rashid and an unbroken 22 when paired with Liam Plunkett to ensure that his side went home with the victory.

Despite Woakes’ impressive performance, overall the batting from England was below par and simply unconvincing. Top of the order Sam Billings failed to settle into the match as he was outed early on after being caught off the shoulder of his bat. Another of England’s heroes of the innings came in the form of Jonny Bairstow who achieved a highly respectable 86 to assist England on their way to a seemingly comfortable target of 234. Joe Root performed to his usual high level that we’ve become so accustomed to, racking up 117 with Bairstow. Ben Stokes was one of the batsmen guilty of a very poor performance as he was bowled for a second-ball duck. Awful by his standards.

Despite the performance from the England side appearing to be below what we expect from them, to say the least, they did have one valid excuse in the form of the pitch. As the game progressed the pitch conditions appeared to shift so that it was more favourable for bowlers and less so for the England batsmen. Following in the game England first team coach, Paul Farbrace said “It was the sort of pitch that got tougher and tougher. Cricket out here tends to be four quarters: the first 25 overs are a lot easier to bad than the last 25 overs. I don’t want to make excuses, but it got tougher and the ball stopped.” In addition to this Farbrace summed up the England game perfectly, “But even so we made it a lot harder for ourselves than we needed to. If one bloke gets 130 not out you win the game comfortably.”

Overall despite England reaching a less than convincing victory there are some positives that can be taken away from the game. The performances of Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root were very respectable and for slightly different reasons Chris Woakes’ contribution was definitely the highlight. Keeping your cool in high pressure scenarios isn’t an easy feat but one that Woakes’ took to like a duck to water.