‘Undroppable’ Woakes England’s new main man
Peter Hayter looks at the rise of Chris Woakes as the Warwickshire star finally made his doubters eat their words this summer
Michael Vaughan came up with perhaps the best line of the summer when, describing the transformation in Chris Woakes, the former England captain remarked that the 27-year-old all-rounder had gone from a “Skoda to a Ferrari” in three months.
Those who know Woakes will tell you that, in character and reliability, he actually has far more in common with the dependable Swede than the flashy Italian, but you got the point.
And one story told about the self-effacing Brummie by his former coach at Warwickshire Ashley Giles goes some way to explaining the drive that has enabled him to progress from last-chance punt at the start of the summer to one of the first names on the team sheet by the end of it.
Giles, then masterminding the Bears’ progress to becoming 2012 County champions, had always empathised with Woakes not least because, as a player, he knew what it was like to be considered not quite top notch; not quite as gifted or as charismatic as others with greater panache and higher profiles – someone to carry the piano rather than play it.
Furthermore, he also understood that, with sheer hard work, blokes like him could have their moments in the sun, as he did so spectacularly for England in the 2005 Ashes.
Giles was not as surprised as many might have been by what he saw when, on an away trip for the county, he went to check on his young pace bowler after a long day in the field, but it was a heartening sight nonetheless.
“In those days Chris used to share with our S&C coach,” Giles recalls. “I went to the room at about 8pm and while other players, young and old, were on their way out for a well-earned beer, there was Woakesy, sat on his bed, wearing his compression socks sipping a protein shake.
“I thought to myself: I won’t have any trouble with this lad.”
Against Sri Lanka at the start of England’s international season and, even more impressively in the 2-2 draw against Pakistan in which he was undoubtedly their Man of the Series, Woakes has proved how far you can get by just pulling your socks up.
Watching him suffer a chastening Test debut against Australia at the Oval in 2013, when Shane Watson took to him with impolite relish, critics considered he might well be joining fellow first-timer Steve Kerrigan as a contender for one-cap wonder status.
Woakes had long been considered capable of scoring runs at Test level and his average of 31.62 indicates that his record justified that faith. But his bowling? Uh-oh.
Well aware that many thought he was neither quick enough, nor tall enough (for the purposes of natural steep bounce) nor did he do enough with the ball consistently to flourish at the highest level, Woakes recommitted himself to his ambition, paying particular attention to the physical work required to squeeze another half a yard out of his six foot one inch frame inch frame, mindful of the risks to the accuracy that came as standard for him.
Coaches concentrated on strengthening a ‘lazy’ front arm in delivery. He listened and worked even harder. And worked and worked and worked. But when the end result was a return of two for 197 in two Tests in South Africa over the winter and a particularly deflating one for 144 at Centurion, a career record to date of just eight from six matches at an average of 63.75 indicated that effort might have been for nothing.
When they were all fit, England had James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Steve Finn, Ben Stokes and Mark Wood to choose from and, with the early season talk of the emergence of Jake Ball, it was hard to see much of a future for him in the Test side, until Ben Stokes locked his knee during the first Test against Sri Lanka at Headingley in May and Woakes took nine for 36 against Durham as events in Leeds unfolded.
“It was a last chance for me, ”Woakes later conceded, “that’s how I saw it.
“They say timing is everything and when Ben got injured I was probably the only all-rounder in the country they were wiling to take a risk on. Had it been an out-and-out seamer injured, they would probably have looked elsewhere. I would have been devastated if Centurion had been it.”
Skipper Alastair Cook admitted it might well have been, but he also expressed the view, shared by all the England batsmen, that the bowler they faced in the nets was a far different proposition to the one they took with them onto the field and that he deserved another chance to prove his worth.
“In the back of my mind,” said Cook, “here was a bloke who averaged 25 with the ball in first-class cricket. When you face him in the nets, you know he can bowl. It was just about a bit more belief from him – or a bit of luck.”
The luck may have come with Stokes’ injury but the belief, from within as well as without, has grown steadily throughout a summer in which he has topped 90 mph, caused problems for all the Pakistan batsmen with swing, movement, intelligence, guile and, occasionally uncomfortable bounce from just short of length.
All of which earned him the rewards of a place on the Lord’s honours board for his 11 for 102 in the opening Test and in the record books for his 26 wickets, the best by an England player in a Test series against these opponents, and the respect of his captain Cook to entrust him with the second new ball in the last match at the Oval – a pointer of things to come?
“Aware that many thought he was neither quick enough or tall enough to generate bounce – nor did he do enough with the ball – Woakes recommitted himself to his ambition ”