Chris Woakes informs on-field umpire of helmet issue to avoid being timed out

Star English cricketer Chris Woakes caught the headlines after he informed the umpires of an helmet issue beforehand so as to avoid a dismissal by a timeout. The clip of the moment has been doing the rounds all over social media.

Woakes’ actions came in light of a recent controversial moment during the game between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh at the ongoing ODI World Cup 2023. Veteran Sri Lanka batter Angelo Mathews was dismissed on a timeout, after he failed to face a ball within the time limit, due to his helmet strap breaking. 

As Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan appealed to the umpire, Mathews was sent back to the pavilion without even having faced a ball, becoming the first player to be dismissed on a timeout in international cricket. 

However, Woakes took a cheeky dig at the moment when England took on the Netherlands in the 40th game of the tournament. Both sides faced off at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune on Wednesday, November 8.

Walking out to bat, Woakes’ helmet had some issues, the 34-year-old walked to the match officials and informed them about the issue. Furthermore, he was also seen laughing about the same, taking an indirect dig at the Mathews and Shakib incident. 

England post big total for Netherlands to chase

Talking of the game between England and the Netherlands, the game began with England coming into bat first. The side got off to a good start as Dawid Malan scored 87 runs in 74 deliveries. Furthermore, Ben Stokes played a brilliant knock of 108 runs, posting a mammoth total of 339 runs on the board in the first innings. 

Already eliminated from the tournament, sitting in 10th place in the standings, England will be looking for a consolation win against the Netherlands, who are struggling as well.