Chris Woakes is confident he would have been “good enough” to do a job for England in the Ashes this winter following his retirement from international cricket.
The 36-year-old last week missed out on selection for England’s upcoming Ashes series in Australia as he battled to recover from suffering a dislocated shoulder in the final home Test of the summer against India.
That fixture at The Oval, which saw Woakes bravely come out to bat with his left arm in a sling as England slipped to a narrow defeat, was the 62nd and final appearance of a Test career that began in 2013.
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Chris Woakes has retired from international cricket. Watch his final act for England when he came out to bat with his arm in a sling!
Despite England opting for a high-pace contingent with the likes of Mark Wood and Jofra Archer involved, Woakes believed he still had it in his game to go out there and perform for his country.
However, he understands England’s idea of doing things a bit differently as they try desperately to secure the away Ashes win since 2010.
“I still feel like I would have been good enough and, you know, had the ability to go out there with the experience as well, to be able to go and do a job for the team,” Woakes told Sky Sports.
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We head back to 2019, where Chris Woakes took six wickets for just 17 runs against Ireland at Lord’s.
“But, I understand the route that the team are wanting to take. Obviously, we haven’t won in Australia for a long time. So, it feels like we’ve got to do something a little bit different.
“I am fully behind that but I still believe with my experience I could have still done a job for the team.
“Whether that be in the starting 11 for every test match, I am not sure that would have been the case, but to be a part of the squad and obviously still give my sort of, I suppose, experience and pass that down and help the other bowlers and bowling attack.
“I still felt I’d have been able to do that.
“But, as I said, with the shoulder, things were forced with that. I was never really going to be fit for the start of the series.”
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Sky Sports’ Michael Atherton looks back at Chris Woakes’ international career and pays tribute to a ‘top class’ cricketer’ following his retirement.
While Woakes felt he was in a strong position to be heading out to the Ashes, he admits that the freak shoulder injury he suffered at The Oval against India did set him back.
Indeed, he would have been fighting to be back for the later Tests of the series with not much cricket under his belt.
Therefore, conversations with Rob Key had taken place and Woakes was aware before it was announced by Key that he was “no longer in England’s plans”.
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Kevin Pietersen paid tribute to Chris Woakes after the bowler announced his England retirement.
“We’d spoken a few times leading up to the Ashes discussions and selection,” he added.
“Once I was not included in that squad, it was probably pretty clear to me that it was time to kind of reflect and maybe time to call it internationally from a career perspective.
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“Whether Keysy (Rob Key) in that sort of pressure kind of said it how he wanted to say it, I don’t know. But, you know, we’d spoken and we were clear on it. So there was no issues from my side.
“There was a chance I could have been fit for once we got into December, but the series would have been well and truly underway.
“You know, you’re into the third, fourth test match by that point, as you said, you need cricket under your belt and I’m generally better with cricket under my belt.
“So that call wasn’t surprising. And, to be fair, I totally agree with that decision as well.”
Ashes series in Australia 2025-26🏏
All times UK and Ireland
First Test: Friday November 21 – Tuesday November 25 (2.30am) – Optus Stadium, PerthSecond Test (day/night): Thursday December 4 – Monday December 8 (4.30am) – The Gabba, BrisbaneThird Test: Wednesday December 17 – Sunday December 21 (12am) – Adelaide OvalFourth Test: Thursday December 25 – Monday December 29 (11.30pm) – Melbourne Cricket GroundFifth Test: Sunday January 4 – Thursday January 8 (11.30pm) – Sydney Cricket Ground