Woakes must prove his worth

Chris Woakes will need to pull off an uncanny impersonation of Ben Stokes to win over the Durham crowd in the second Test against Sri Lanka.

England captain Alastair Cook is convinced the unsung Woakes has it in him, however, to prove an able deputy for the charismatic Stokes at Chester-le-Street.

It is a fair bet to assume that, of the 25,000 who have so far bought tickets to watch England against Sri Lanka today, a decent majority did so in the hope of witnessing a prominent role over the five days from Durham’s match-winner in his home Test.

That will not happen after Stokes underwent an operation on Monday on the knee he injured in England’s win at Headingley.

While he will therefore be out of action at least until they face Pakistan in July, Woakes will win his seventh Test cap today as the hosts bid for an unassailable 2-0 series lead.

Cook confirmed his return – Woakes’ last appearance came in the Centurion defeat against South Africa in January – ahead of the still uncapped frontline seamer Jake Ball.

He wasted no time backing the allrounder to disprove the evidence to date of an unpromising Test bowling average of almost 64, adding a hint that Woakes will also be playing when this series concludes at Lord’s next month.

Cook said: “We need to know we can play without him – and Chris has that opportunity.”