Born on March 2, 1989, Chris Woakes made his First-Class debut against a touring West Indies 'A' side for Warwickshire in Birmingham in August 2006. Two years later, he made headlines by topping the bowling charts for his side in the season, picking up 42 wickets at an average of 20.57. His fine performances got him an entry into the England Lions side and also a place in the preliminary 2009 World T20 squad. In the same year, Woakes was near unplayable against the West Indies, bagging 6/43 in the first innings, bowling for the England Lions in a warm-up match. He is not just all about taking wickets with the ball, Woakes, is a very handy batsman too. He has a few First-Class centuries to his credit, with the most notable being an unbeaten 131 against Hampshire. During the course of that innings, he also shared a mammoth 222-run partnership for the ninth wicket with Jonathan Trott. His first international appearance came in the shortest format of the game, a T20I between England and Australia in January 2011. Woakes made his ODI debut against Australia in Sydney in 2011. Exactly a week later, on January 30, he registered his career-best figures of 6/45 against Australia in Brisbane. Stokes's emergence as a match-winning all-rounder meant that Woakes never sealed a spot in any format, being that they are similar players. And there is this unsaid belief, a baffling belief, of picking a team with variety. He wasn't even in the English squad for the World T20 in what would have been a major setback. But as fate would have it, an injury to Stokes opened up a place in the XI against the touring Lankans in 2016. An opportunity presented, an opportunity grabbed. Woakes made his presence felt and didn't look out of place in the company of Broad, Anderson and Finn. Then came the breakout Test. One which will remain etched in memory for a long time for various reasons. With 11 wickets in the match and a gutsy batting performance in both innings at Lord's against Pakistan, and following it up right through the fascinating series with tremendous consistency, Woakes has surely grabbed the brass ring. Woakes was England’s back-up pacer in the 2015 World Cup squad and managed to pick only five wickets in five matches. After England’s hopes of making to the knockouts ended, an injury forced Woakes to miss his team’s final match of the competition. Post the 2015 debacle, England changed their whole approach to 50-over cricket and Woakes has been an integral member of his side ever since. He has scalped 79 wickets in 50 innings since the last World Cup with an economy rate below 5.5. Despite these numbers, his World Cup berth wasn’t to be taken for granted due to two reasons - Jofra Archer’s threat and his own personal form. Woakes didn’t have a great start in 2019 - picking just four wickets in five balls. However, the Warwickshire seamer proved his mettle in tough bowling conditions by claiming a four-fer and a fifer in his last two appearances against Pakistan - just over a week before the World Cup. The tall all-rounder took that form into the competition proper and formed an ideal foil to the pace of Jofra Archer and Mark Wood. He finished the tournament with 16 wickets and 134 runs with the bat - not bad for someone who wasn't expected to be one of the shining lights of a victorious campaign. Chris Woakes has the experience of playing in Indian conditions having featured in the IPL and wickets which have something in it to offer, Woakes can be deadly on such tracks. With his pace and seam, the lanky pacer can pick wickets and play an impactful role for England. Apart from his bowling, Woakes can also play significant and decisive knocks with the bat down the order in World Cup 2023.
