Chris Woakes hails golden arm Ben Stokes: "We know he is capable of miracles"

The Durham allrounder was not certain to bowl but he picked up two crucial wickets during the evening session to help stall Pakistan's progress

• England v Pakistan: Day three talking points
• Late wickets give England hope in first Test

Chris Woakes has praised the resilience of Ben Stokes after the England allrounder defied injury to take crucial late wickets to peg back Pakistan in the first Test at Emirates Old Trafford.

The tourists were reduced to 137 for 8 on day three, a lead of 244, after a flurry of late scalps. Woakes, Stuart Broad and Stokes finished with a pair apiece to give the home side hope of an unlikely win.

Perhaps the most impressive effort came from the Durham allrounder, who has not bowled since the second West Indies Test due to a groin injury and was expected to continue his role as an out-and-out batsman.

But he stepped up to the mantle when England needed him most to haul his side back into the contest.

"I had no idea if he was able to bowl. I had seen him bowl in the warm-ups and he seemed fine. I was not surprised to see him do what he does. He's Ben Stokes. We know he is capable of miracles. It was nice to see him back with ball in hand.

India-England white-ball tour postponed

"He's got a bit of a golden arm hasn't he? He has a knack of picking up wickets. When you're in a dogfight he's the sort of man you want on your team. He'll always put his hand up and put in 110 per cent and he certainly did that."

If and when England take the final two Pakistan wickets they facing a daunting task of chasing down a total with Yasir Shah eyeing up a tiring pitch, and Nassem Shah and Shaheen Afridi eyeing up more scalps.

But after a 2019 during which England defied the odds on regular occasions - namely in the World Cup final and the third Ashes Test at Headingley - Woakes says belief runs through the entire squad.

"You look at those wins and you're written off around about now. We'll draw from those experiences. We've got the ability to get wickets and we believe we can go and do it. We've got the players to do it.

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