England vs India Test cricket: Rick McCosker says Chris Woakes braver than he was in second innings heroics
Australian batting hero Rick McCosker has hailed the bravery of Chris Woakes, hailing his fortitude to bat with arm in a sling as one of the gutsiest innings ever seen.
When England’s one-armed warrior Chris Woakes walked out to bat with his arm in a sling, a little piece of Rick McCosker went with him.
McCosker was glued to his television in Newcastle and floated back in time.
Back to 1977 when he walked out to bat at No 10 at the MCG against England in the Centenary Test with his jaw wired shut and crudely strapped after it was broken in the first innings by a Bob Willis bouncer.
Woakes and McCosker, along with the likes of South African batsman Graeme Smith, Australia’s Dean Jones and Nathan Lyon and England batsmen Eddie Paynter and Colin Cowdrey will share lifelong membership of cricket’s Crazy Brave Club.
It’s for incapacitated batsmen who had no right to bat but somehow did.
“I was glued to the television and I guess you do think back a bit,’’ McCosker told this masthead of Woakes effort to bat with a dislocated shoulder in the final Test against India even though he was not required to face a ball.
“Woakes’ challenge was bigger than mine. At least I had my arms free. I could not run and was a bit restricted. My situation was easier than his was. All he could do was stand down the other end. I felt for him because there was so little he could do.
“I have a lot of respect for Woakes. He has been a good bowler for a long time. He did all he could do. What he did was fantastic.’’
Just as Woakes told captain Ben Stokes there was no way he would not be batting, so was McCosker equally emphatic when approached in the MCG dressing room by Greg Chappell before his crucial 25.
“I remember I had being in hospital for a couple of days and I got back to the dressing room and Rod Marsh was getting close to a century and we needed more runs and I just decided I wanted to do my bit. Greg Chappell gave me the option and I said “I want to do it.
“The bandage was ugly but I had to keep my upper and lower jaw together.’’
It doesn’t happen often but when a player volunteers to bat with a major injury it creates memories which are never forgotten.
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