Experience is making me better, says Chris
CHRIS WOAKES insists his Indian Premier League experience will make him an even bigger threat for England in the Champions Trophy.
Woakes will have a key role with the new ball and at the death for England when the tournament begins later this month.
The hosts, who start with a match against Bangladesh at The Oval on June 1, go into the Champions Trophy as favourites.
And the Warwickshire allrounder, who took 17 wickets for Kolkata Knight Riders at the IPL, is confident he can deliver after sharpening his skills at the lucrative T20 competition.
“The IPL is the first full T20 tournament I have played abroad, so I will take that experience of playing against world-class players and guys who specialise in T20 cricket,” said Woakes.
“The pressure as an overseas player – you’re expected to perform – is something I will take forward.”
Woakes, who will return from England’s training camp in Spain today ahead of the start of the three-match ODI series against South Africa starting at Headingley on Wednesday, added: “The IPL experience was 100 per cent worth it.
“We have some important cricket coming up.
“It’s a different format from 50over cricket, but there’s not a lot that changes – you go into an ODI and the last 15 overs have become an extended version of T20.
“Conditions will be different but the skills are not far off the same.
“To bowl under pressure against big players can only stand me in good stead. That’s what I will take into the ODIs.”