Yet 15 months later, Woakes finds himself preparing not only to play in England’s first Test against Pakistan, but to lead their bowling attack. He will have to battle scorching-hot conditions in Multan from Monday, where he will play his first away Test in two-and-a-half years and his first in Asia since 2016.
It is a situation that few would have predicted when England last toured Pakistan two years ago, with James Anderson, Ollie Robinson and Mark Wood all thriving and Stuart Broad missing on paternity leave. But Anderson and Broad have retired, Robinson has been sidelined and Wood is injured – leaving Woakes recalled as the unlikely spearhead.
Before Woakes travelled to Pakistan, he rowed back on some of his previous self-analysis, telling the Guardian that he believed some of the criticism of his overseas record had been unduly harsh in tone. “I know what I’m capable of,” he said. “The fact I’ve been selected suggests I’m pretty good and from a knowledge perspective, I have a wealth of it – more so now than ever in my career.”
England’s rationale for selecting Woakes is multi-faceted. His inclusion is recognition of his performance in their home summer, and comes with the belief – or hope – that he is a more complete bowler than when he last toured. It is also priceless from a team construction perspective: in Ben Stokes’ absence, he is the only viable No. 7 in a team with five bowlers.
Perhaps balance is the most relevant consideration. In India earlier this year, Stokes’ availability only as a specialist batter left England in a bind: without a bowling option in their squad who was a realistic option at No. 7, they had to compromise somewhere. Their batter-heavy balance left them so reliant on Joe Root’s offspin early in the series that his output with the bat suffered.
Woakes had a lean series with the bat in England’s most recent series against Sri Lanka, averaging 9.20. He is probably one spot higher than ideal at No. 7, but his role is often about partnership batting and allowing the top six to maintain their natural tempo: stands of 106 and 52 with Jamie Smith this summer underlined his value in a hinge position.
He will also continue to open the bowling – a role which should suit him much better than the one he has filled in the majority of his away Tests, as a change bowler behind Anderson and Broad. “He’ll get the opportunity with the new ball over here, which is something that he should enjoy a lot more,” Brendon McCullum, England’s coach, said on Sunday.
“I’m really, really impressed with how Woakesy’s been able to operate for us since he’s taken up the ‘leader of the attack’ mantle,” McCullum added. “Throughout the English summer, when the ball was flat, he was still able to use his skill and knowledge to get the ball to reverse-swing, and challengers [batters] in different ways. Add his batting to that, and his leadership qualities, and he becomes a pretty important player for us.”
Ollie Pope, who will captain in Stokes’ absence, believes that Woakes will be able to replicate Anderson’s “control” which underpinned England’s success in the first two Tests of the 2022 series. “It’s a great opportunity for him to fill in that role and use the skills that he’s got with reverse [swing], movement off the pitch and different angles on the pitch,” Pope said.
Woakes may also benefit from substantially different conditions to those England experienced in Multan two years ago, when they toured two months later in the year. Temperatures are significantly higher this time around, touching 40 degrees, but the pitch has a healthy covering of grass and has been prepared on instruction to bring Pakistan’s seamers to the fore.
“We’re going to have to ensure that we adapt to the conditions, which I think look a lot different to what we played on a couple of years ago,” McCullum said. “There’s a bit more live grass on the wicket than what we saw throughout all three Test matches [in 2022]… We’ve just got to be quite malleable with our plans and adapt as quickly as we can.”
For all of the intangibles that might play in his favour, Woakes will know that it is up to him to prove at last that he can be effective overseas: by his own admission, the numbers do not paint a flattering picture. If he succeeds, this tour could be the start of a late-career resurgence which culminates in next winter’s Ashes; if not, it will be the postscript to an unhappy chapter of an otherwise fine career.
Matt Roller is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo. @mroller98
