Woakes says England are ready for Ashes mind games
CHRIS WOAKES has told David Warner he can keep up his Ashes “chirping” but England will just “laugh” and do their talking on the field.
The Warwickshire bowler claims he is “up for the battle” of trying to retain the urn by upsetting the Aussies in their own backyard.
Woakes has arrived Down Under with the rest of Joe Root’s army ready to fire from the hip rather than the lip in what Aussie opener Warner (right) labelled “a cricketing war”.
And, having endured a frustrating summer due to injury, Woakes is pumped up to do his country proud as the fast bowling all-rounder in Ben Stokes’ absence.
The first Test begins in Brisbane on November 23 and Woakes, 28, said: “The words Warner used were a bit extreme. It’s not a war but it will be intense on the field, and there will be a few things said out there.
“That’s what happens when you have two teams coming up against each other who are desperate to win.
“When you go to Australia you are taking on the nation and not just the team. But they will feel that pressure as well. So you can probably understand why he’s saying that.
“It just makes it more exciting and we are really looking forward to it. I never find trouble in getting into the battle. Everyone does it in their own way.
“David Warner might want to chirp and get stuck in but other guys do it in completely different ways.
“You just have to find what’s best for you. Sometimes getting stuck in a battle might distract you from doing your day job. So each to their own.
“David can do whatever he wants and we will react by playing our best cricket and winning the series.
“At the end of an Ashes no-one remembers what people claimed before.
They just remember who has the urn! We have to make sure that is us.
“For any England cricketer going to
Australia is the pinnacle and toughest tour possible.
“There’s such rivalry, history and tradition involved and it is going to be a great series.
“The rivalry speaks for itself. You invariably face a lot more fast bowling. The only real difference I guess is that it bounces a lot more.
“I know there’s been a lot of talk about a barrage of bouncers come at us but it’s Test cricket in Australia – if bouncers weren’t bowled it would be a very strange Test series. “That’s what we expect from them. The Aussie bowlers probably have a bit more pace than us but with the experience of Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson, two of England’s best ever bowlers, along with myself and two other bowlers, I think we have more than enough to cause them problems. “To win an Ashes series down under would be bigger than doing it at home.”