Given the higgledy-piggledy nature of England’s year, Chris Woakes would be forgiven for cutting a rather forlorn figure.
Remember that disastrous World Cup campaign? Well, Woakes was there, and he has missed all the fun since – that joyous one-day series with New Zealand and, last week, an unlikely Ashes triumph – because of a pair of frustrating injuries: first a foot problem that ruled him out of the less merry tour of the West Indies, then a meniscal tear picked up in rehabilitation that required keyhole surgery to his knee.
Yet bitterness and frustration are not Woakes’s style. He may not be Pangloss but the 26-year-old has a breezy disposition to go alongside his near-permanent smile. “Of course I’d love to be a part of it [the drawn Test series with New Zealand and the Ashes win], but firstly these are my mates so I’m delighted for them, and I’m also a massive England fan,” he says.
It is easy to forget Woakes is one of 12 centrally contracted England cricketers. He was one of the few Englishmen to emerge from the World Cup with any credit and played the past three Test matches for which he was available, against India last summer.
That central contract meant England’s medical team directed his rehab and he trained with the squad at Edgbaston. When Jimmy Anderson went down with a side strain during the third Test at Edgbaston, Woakes was tipped as a like-for-like replacement but, with only two Championship matches under his belt and injections to remove fluid from his knee preventing bowling for a couple of days, it all came too soon.
His improved pace, ability to swing the ball late and bowl Anderson’s “wobble ball” – a delivery that is not pushed through by the wrist but released straight from the hand, resulting in a wobbling seam and unpredictable movement – also means he remains touted as a long-term replacement for the 33-year-old.
“It was just nice to be invited back into the squad,” says Woakes of not being part of the team who regained the Ashes at Trent Bridge. “It was great to meet Trevor Bayliss and hear some of his ideas. I’ve been in touch loads, from the physios to talking to James Whittaker about my availability. I’m close to 100% now, and just need to bowl as much as possible.
“Last year, I put on a yard of pace through hard work and minor technical changes, so who knows if I can unlock a bit more. It’s huge raps to be even mentioned in the same breath as someone like Jimmy after all he’s achieved but I’d just take absolutely any chance I’m given with England – all-rounder, opening bowler, fourth seamer, whatever.
“Right now I’ve just got to bowl well for Warwickshire to even get myself back in contention for the ODIs against Australia next month.”
Warwickshire – or Birmingham Bears – are indeed Woakes’s immediate focus. His three Championship matches to date have brought 11 wickets at under 20 (since 2008 he has had only one season averaging north of 29 in red ball cricket) but on Thursday the club have their biggest match of the season – a Natwest T20 Blast quarter-final with Essex as they look to defend their title.
Woakes has fond memories of last year’s final, where he nailed his yorkers to prevent a rampant Andrew Flintoff pulling off a heist for Lancashire. “I’ve watched that back a few times and spoken to Fred about it,” he says. “It was all just very surreal. He was looking at me thinking I was the current England bowler and I was thinking this is the guy who I loved growing up.
“We’re lucky that Finals Day is at Edgbaston because the support is so amazing and it’s so loud. That makes us seriously hungry to do it all again. To win is tricky but to defend it is as hard as it gets.”
It is another of the game’s most influential personalities who has been helping Birmingham focus on the task of defending their T20 title – Brendon McCullum, New Zealand’s swashbuckling captain who joined the Bears for seven fixtures of this summer’s Blast.
“He won one game completely on his own,” Woakes says. “It was all about spending time with him – I’m pretty sure he hit more golf balls than cricket balls but that was the perfect way to just relax and chat rubbish.”
