The Ashes 2017/18: With Ben Being Away All Of Us Have Got To Step Up: Chris Woakes
Nov 15, 2017 at 5:57 PM
With his buildup to the Ashes getting stronger with each passing day, England all-rounder Chris Woakes is hopeful of filling the huge void left by the incumbent Ben Stokes in the forthcoming Ashes, starting November 23 at the Gabba, Brisbane.
Having played an integral part in the thumping win in the first warm-up game against the Cricket Australia XI by taking 4 for 17, Woakes did even better in the ongoing second warm-up tie, finishing with six for 54 on day one of four to reduce the hosts to 249 for nine at stumps. Woakes’ form will be a pleasing sight for the England team management which is primarily banking on its old warhorses James Anderson and Stuart Anderson to do the bulk of the damage in the five-Test series.
“With Ben being away all of us have got to step up,” Woakes said after the day’s play.“Hopefully I can do that, hopefully I can score runs and take wickets. That’s my plan. I’ll be trying my best to do that.”
“I felt like today it came out pretty nicely, which was good for me. I was pleased with how it came out, my rhythm was good. I feel like I’m building well heading into that Test series,” he added.
Woakes’ spell, nonetheless, came at the right time for England whose confidence would have dented after CA XI made a strong start to their innings with the openers adding 66 runs. However, Woakes turned the tied in England’s favour by striking with the first ball of his second spell and went on to take three wickets in his next three overs, either side of lunch, to leave the hosts reeling at 91-4.
Woakes went on to take a couple of more wickets while Craig Overton also picked up a couple as England stamped their authority over the tie.
The right-arm pacer further expressed his delight over being among the wickets ahead of the first Test.
“It’s nice to get wickets in any game. A week away from the first Test, it’s nice to hit a bit of form,” he said. “I’ll continue to work and hopefully be ready for next week.”
Despite the game being a warm-up tie, the fans at Riverway Stadium were trying their best to rile the English players up.
Speaking about that Woakes said:
“You expect a little bit of heckling from the crowd when you’re in Australia. Australia get it when they are in England, so we have to expect to get a little bit back. It’s part and parcel of the tour and we have to deal with it.
“We dealt with it well today, but I’m sure it will go up a notch at the Gabba,” he added.
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