Manchester: England all-rounder Chris Woakes played once in a lifetime innings against Pakistan in the first Test and won the game for the home side. While praising Chirs former England captain Nasser Hussain said that he is England's most under-valued cricketer.
Woakes stormed back to form with the bat as he hit a match-winning 84 not out for England against Pakistan in the first Test at Old Trafford. With England 117/5 chasing a target of 277, Woakes joined Jos Buttler in the middle and changed the tide of the game by taking the attack to the charging Pakistan outfit.
He ended up putting on a stand of 139 runs for the seventh wicket and while Buttler eventually departed on 75 off 101 balls, Woakes saw them over the line. This coupled with the two wickets he picked in each innings, including that of Babar Azam in the second, was enough to earn him the player of the match award.
"Chris Woakes is probably the most popular man in that dressing room, probably the most under-valued cricketer by England really," Hussain said.
"He always does it, he always goes under the radar and he is always the one who has left out because the superstars in that side - the 500-wicket boys, the nearly 600-wicket boy - but he is always there for England. He said on an interview last night that he could do with a few more runs and he certainly delivered today!
"The other lad, Jos Buttler, he is in that inner-circle, in that think-tank. He's had three difficult days, he's dropped a couple of chances and with all the pressures of being on the field for virtually every moment, to go out and at the situation they won and play as he did - that will be a very popular partnership from Buttler and Woakes," said Hussain, one of the most respected voices in world cricket.