Warwickshire's Chris Woakes eager to prove his worth

The 34-year-old all-rounder will make his long-awaited red ball return at Edgbaston next week when Warwickshire host Surrey in their County Championship home opener.

It will be Woakes’ first taste of red ball cricket since March 2022 when he played in the final Test of England’s tour of the West Indies.

Knee surgery then saw him miss the whole of the domestic summer and he has watched from the sidelines as Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum transformed England’s fortunes in the longer format.

Woakes, part of the team which won the T20 World Cup last November, opted to sit out this year’s Indian Premier League to focus on recovering his place for this year’s Ashes series.

But he is realistic about his chances of breaking back into a team which has won 10 of its last 13 matches.

“I need to get back out there and show my worth in the red ball,” said Woakes, speaking yesterday at Edgbaston.

“I haven’t played it for a year, so I have a little bit to prove and hopefully I can do that with Warwickshire.

“The Ashes is there, that’s the carrot but obviously, it is a hard side to get into at the minute. All I can do is put in a few performances for Warwickshire and hopefully I can get the nod.”

England play one Test against Ireland at the start of June before the Ashes series begins at Edgbaston midway through the month.

With Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad continuing to defy time, England have also seen Ollie Robinson establish himself in the seam attack.

“He has done brilliantly. He is a fantastic bowler,” said Woakes. “Broady and Jimmy keep going from strength to strength.

“People always talk about when they are going to finish but they never do, they keep coming back stronger. I am sure they will perform well again this summer. It is a hard team to get into but it is a good place for England cricket. Hopefully I can get a go at some point.”

Woakes continued: “It really is incredible, what Ben and Brendon have done is chuck that fear of failure out of the window, which is hard to do at a professional level.

“It is hard to take the fear of failure away, that sort of scrutiny from players. But they have taken the pressure off and they are playing great cricket, which is great to see.”

Woakes’ immediate focus is Warwickshire. His last appearance for the county came on the final day of the 2021 season when he helped them secure an eighth title. Last year he sat glued to a live stream in Pakistan, having travelled away with the England limited overs squad, as Liam Norwell took 9-62 to keep the Bears in Division One against all odds.

“I am excited about what’s ahead,” said Woakes. “I am feeling pretty fit and ready to go.

“I had a busy winter, a lot of travelling and it just felt like the first game (away at Somerset) would come a little too soon.

“But I am feeling fresh and will hopefully play as much for Warwickshire without flogging myself too much and getting injured.

“We had an internal game here on Monday which I played a part of. It was just great to be back playing red ball cricket again. I realised how much I have missed it. I am really excited about getting back to it.”