“I got it in memory of him” - Chris Woakes reveals emotional reason behind his tattoo during ENG vs IND 2025 2nd Test

Veteran England seamer Chris Woakes revealed the emotional reason behind the tattoo on his left tricep after Day 1 of the second Test against India at Edgbaston, Birmingham. The death of his father death in May 2024 prompted the right-arm seamer to get inked.

According to a report in The Telegraph, the Warwickshire seamer's tattoo, that of his father Roger wearing a flat cap with hands behind his back, was spotted on his left tricep last week. It was surrounded by his initials and dates. Woakes' father reportedly visited Edgbaston numerous times to watch his son play.

Speaking after the day's play, the 36-year-old stated when asked about the tattoo, as quoted by The Telegraph:

"I got it in memory of him. My Dad always wore a flat cap, and he would walk around the boundary with his hands behind his back, nervously watching me play cricket. He’s always on my mind, that’s for sure. There’s moments where I think about him. He loved his cricket, and he’d have loved this week."

The Englishman had been deeply affected by his father's demise and took time off from the game. He was the pick of the bowlers against India on Day 1 at Edgbaston, dismissing KL Rahul (2) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1), snaffling figures of 21-6-59-2.

"Umpiring decisions either go your way or they don't" - Chris Woakes

Chris Woakes. (Image Credits: Getty)

Woakes felt England stuck to their task well even after the pitch flattened out but lamented a couple of close decisions going against the hosts. He said, as quoted by Sky Sports:

"I thought we stuck to the task well. After lunch the surface just went really flat - there was not much to work with. A couple of wickets early in that last session, which we felt like we could have kicked on and got into the tail, but they played well. Umpiring decisions either go your way or they don't. Umpire's call is there for a reason, I suppose. It's just frustrating, because if those wickets do go your way then it looks just completely different."

The Indians reached 310/5 at Stumps as Shubman Gill headlined their effort with an unbeaten 114. Yashasvi Jaiswal once again stood tall with a fluent 87-run knock.