After Woakes pain, who'll step in to take the strain?
It is a measure of how far Chris Woakes has come that he would have been high on the list of players England would least like to lose for the Champions trophy and probably the start of their test series against South africa.
Only Ben Stokes, who will have to manage his own knee injury throughout the tournament, and Joe root, a worry himself when he hobbled his way through his hundred against Bangladesh, could be considered bigger 50-over losses.
Confirmation yesterday that the side strain suffered by Woakes at the Kia Oval had ended his trophy involvement almost before it had begun leaves a giant all-round hole in England’s attempt to win their first global 50-over title.
not only that, but Woakes faces a battle to overcome a notoriously slow healing injury for fast bowlers if he is to be fit in time for the belated first test of the summer at Lord’s on July 6.
England will today name a replacement ahead of their second group match against new Zealand in Cardiff on tuesday but none of the candidates can offer the complete package that Woakes does in test and 50-over cricket.
Steven Finn seems next in line as a strike bowler while toby roland-Jones, who made a promising England debut against South africa at Lord’s on Monday, offers more of the lower middle order batting that is such a strength of Woakes.
tom Curran is a highly promising bowling all-rounder who could fit the bill while there were significant voices last night calling for England to forget the future for now and go back to the proven quality and nous of Stuart Broad.
Whatever they decide it is a big blow to England, who were not at their best with the ball against Bangladesh and will have to improve if they are going to overcome the bigger obstacles blocking their path to the trophy final. at least they have a bowler who will relish stepping into Woakes’ shoes at the death — for Liam Plunkett transformed the opening match in England’s favour by dismissing tamim iqbal and Mushfiqur rahim in successive balls. it has taken
Plunkett, who took four wickets against Bangladesh, a long time since his debut 12 years ago to establish himself in any England side but now he feels ready to take the final step up to become 50over attack leader. ‘You get all the glory doing that, don’t you?’ smiled Plunkett when asked if he would like to take over from Woakes in bowling for England when the pressure is at its most intense.
‘You can go round the park at the death but it gives you the chance to pick up wickets. It’s something we all work on. You have to work on your skills in case someone goes down and you need to bowl at the death but I do enjoy it. It is a challenge bowling against someone trying reverse sweeps and all that stuff but it’s good fun when it goes your way.’
Plunkett has spent his career among the supporting cast with England and even at Durham and Yorkshire but now, at 32 and after a consistent year of 50-over success, his time to thrive has come.
‘You don’t want to play to make up the numbers, you want to be the man who takes the wickets,’ said Plunkett. ‘Chris is one of the best in the world and a massive loss but I do want to take it on and become the leader of the attack. I’m happy to take that on my shoulders. I’m in a good place.’
An England player definitely not in a good place is Jason Roy, who failed to respond to captain Eoin Morgan’s vote of confidence when he looked nervous and tentative before falling cheaply again to an ill-advised scoop on Thursday.
Morgan is committed to sticking with Roy in Cardiff and he has the backing of his opening partner Alex Hales, who has come through his own problems, not least his refusal to tour Bangladesh, to cement his place at the top of the order.
‘It’s about never doubting yourself,’ said Hales, who fell five runs short of a century in England’s composed run-chase against Bangladesh. ‘Jason is a massive confidence player so once he gets a few away he will be right back in form.
‘He has done well against the world’s best teams so we’re all sure he will bounce back. From what I’ve seen he’s not someone who worries about bad form. He still seems himself and I’m sure a good score is just around the corner.’
Now England have got the potential banana skin of Bangladesh out of the way — and following the abandoned match between New Zealand and Australia yesterday — they know that victory against the Kiwis would book their place in the semi-finals.
But, with Woakes out, Stokes and Root suffering niggles and Roy desperately needing runs, they have much to ponder as they head to Wales tomorrow to prepare for Tuesday’s match. Not least the best man to step in for Woakes.