Chris Woakes can be forgiven for his beaming smile following a memorable few weeks during which he got married, secured a £500,000 Indian Premier League contract and guided England to a series victory over West Indies with a nerveless batting display.
Eoin Morgan’s side flew here from Antigua on Monday for Thursday’s third and final one-day international with an unassailable 2-0 lead thanks, in the main, to Woakes’s unbeaten 68 from No8 in a stand of 102 with Joe Root (90 not out) on Sunday that overcame a middle-order collapse.
It was the second time in a year Woakes, 28, has bailed out the batsmen after his unbeaten 95 secured a dramatic tie against Sri Lanka at Trent Bridge last summer and while they may be his only two List A half-centuries to date, with nine first-class hundreds the right-hander considers himself more than just a tailender. England’s batting depth, he believes, will be a strength in the Champions Trophy in June.
Woakes, who with Root steered England from 124 for six to their target of 226 and a four-wicket win, said: “It was really nice considering we were in a little bit of a pickle in the middle. Whenever I go into bat I’m nervous, but when you’re in that situation you give yourself a little more time and you don’t need to go from ball one and hit boundaries. From that position, a lot of people rule you out the game.”
“A lot of people see me as a bowler but I feel like I’m more than a handy batsmen and see myself as an all-rounder. I feel like if I get myself in I can go on and get a score. I enjoy the challenge.”
“Rarely do you go through a tournament where your No8 doesn’t bat much so playing knocks like that and challenging myself in those positions is only a good thing going forward. This team seems to be shaping up nicely heading into the Champions Trophy.”
Woakes, who only a year ago was concerned about his international future following a chastening tour of South Africa, enjoyed a breakthrough summer in 2016. He was riding high going into the Caribbean trip, having married his childhood sweetheart, Amie, and been signed by Kolkata Knightriders in the IPL auction.
He was recommended to Kolkata by their former coach, England’s Trevor Bayliss. A final over in the last ODI against India in January when he defended eight runs off the final four balls and the fact KKR’s West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell is serving a ban for a doping whereabouts violation helped. The earlier sale of team-mate Ben Stokes to Pune for £1.7m also increased his appeal.
Woakes said: “Stokesy’s price is a bit out of the norm, particularly for a foreign player. I put myself in the auction hoping to get picked up but didn’t have any high expectations. Going in at the highest reserve price [£240,000], I thought that might put a few people off but the fact I got picked up is great. I’m really looking forward to it. It’ll be a great experience and I can’t wait to get over there.
“It has been a memorable month for me. This year has been good so far apart from losing the one-day series in India. I got married, then the IPL auction went well and winning the series here, so I’m enjoying 2017.
Hopefully we can win in Barbados and take a 3-0 win back home with us – that will only breed confidence going into the summer.”
