England vs Sri Lanka: Chris Woakes goes easy on Jonny Bairstow after spilt chance

'You're frustrated when anyone drops a catch but Jonny works hard on his keeping'

Chris Woakes was unlucky with ball in hand for England (Getty)

Chris Woakes admitted it was frustrating for him to see Jonny Bairstow spill a regulation catch off his bowling here at Lord’s on day two of the third Test but refused to blame his team-mate.

Sri Lanka were 162 for 1 at stumps, 254 behind England, on a flat track where the fielding side cannot really afford to be throwing chances to the floor.

Woakes was the best of the bunch for England with ball in hand extracting bounce and his first delivery flicked the edge of Dimuth Karunaratne’s blade but Bairstow, who had earlier made a magnificent, unbeaten 167, grassed the opportunity.

“I lost it once it went past the batsman but it looked like it wobbled away from Jonny a bit,” Woakes said, generously. “It’s unfortunate he’s put that down but we moved on and we got him a bit later.

“At the time you're frustrated when anyone drops a catch. With Jonny today in particular we know how hard he’s working on his keeping. I’ve never seen anyone work as hard as he does - same goes for his batting. He does so much work with [wicketkeeping coach] Bruce French. He is always first in, last out. He is trying his best, giving 110 per cent, so that’s all you can ask for from your team-mates.”

The wobble has been mentioned before at Lord’s but was that really the case? “I’m not a wicketkeeper,” Woakes said, “so I wouldn't know how much it does but I have heard it can be difficult to keep at Lord’s. I have played here when it has seemed to wobble more than other grounds. I have no idea why.”

Woakes found a different suggestion for his poor luck: the man in the white coat. “It’s Rod Tucker,” he said, tongue in cheek, of the umpire. “Every time it seems to happen he is at my end. When that first one went down, he couldn’t believe it. He feels like he’s the curse. But I feel I’m bowling well and if I keep doing that I will get the rewards.”

Woakes looked like he might get one very handsome reward for his batting - his name on the Lord’s honours board but he fell for a Test best score of 66. “It was missed opportunity, 100 per cent,” he said. “At the time I hadn’t offered a chance. I felt like I was seeing the ball well. Especially at Lord’s it’s always in the back of your mind - which it shouldn't be. It is frustrating, it would have been nice to have kicked on and got my name on the board. I’ll learn from that and hopefully next time I’m in that position I’ll kick on and get a 100.”

Woakes feels England have a slog ahead on a track that got easier to bat on on day two. “It’s going to be tough but that’s Test cricket. They batted well. It’s a good pitch that has flattened out. We tried some funky fields there. You have to adapt to the conditions and that’s what we’ll have to do.”