After a lengthy recovery from a knee injury that caused him to miss a significant amount of cricket, experienced English all-rounder Chris Woakes is eager to make his mark for the national team during a busy summer of cricket. Renowned for his effectiveness with the new ball, Woakes’ last appearance for England was in March 2022 during a Test series against the West Indies.
Frustration engulfed the 34-year-old from Birmingham as he was unable to partake in any action last year and even pondered his future due to the severity of his knee injury. Nevertheless, a call-up to the national team for a solitary Test against Ireland rekindled his aspirations of regaining his place in Ben Stokes’ lineup.
“Last summer was quite a tough summer for me personally, missing out on not just England cricket but all cricket. When Brendon did call me it felt, not like the first call-up, but it always means a lot and it’s great to be back amongst it. Those sort of doubts (about playing again for England) do run through your mind a little bit. That’s part and parcel of professional sport, whether it be form, injury or whatever it is, there’s always someone knocking on the door, younger players ready to come in,”
Woakes said.
With a huge summer ahead you want to try and be a part of that: Woakes
“Whenever you get an opportunity to put the shirt on it’s an opportunity to impress, contribute to team wins, and with a huge summer ahead you want to try and be a part of that. You look across the board and we’ve got a very, very good pool of fast bowlers. There has been a couple of niggles around, obviously, and with a big summer ahead you would imagine we’re going to need that big pool of fast bowlers at some point,”
Woakes further added.
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