Chris Woakes sees no logic in ditching England’s high-tempo Test approach, even after the 4-1 Ashes reverse in Australia. The all-rounder, now focused on franchise and county opportunities, argues that the Stokes-McCullum “Bazball” era has moved the team forward too far to be abandoned overnight.
“I think it’d be daft to kind of rip it up and start again,” Woakes said during a recent interview. “We have done so many good things over the last three years. We won some extremely exciting Test matches. I think people forget that before they took over, we were a pretty poor side. We were not winning games of cricket. I think at the same time now, obviously we’ve had a poor series in Australia and haven’t got quite over the line in the big series, but they’re close. To rip it up now would be a bit daft.”
England’s latest trip Down Under exposed familiar challenges. The tourists matched Australia for intent but failed, as Woakes put it, to seize “key moments”.
“It didn’t go really well in Australia obviously. I think we had the team to be able to compete. The guys are extremely talented. I think maybe going to Australia for the first time for a lot of them, maybe got exposed a little bit to the conditions. Then you realise that you have to back it up day after day after day. They didn’t win those key moments. I think particularly as a bowling attack, they probably didn’t quite have the experience and the know-how to perform on those surfaces.”
Bazball’s attacking instinct has delivered memorable wins at home and abroad, but critics wonder whether tactical tweaks are needed on harder Australian pitches. Woakes prefers evolution to revolution, noting that England’s bowlers will grow from the experience. A quick look at the averages underscores the gap: Australia’s seamers claimed 93 wickets at 23 apiece; England’s managed 65 at 36. These numbers hint at issues of consistency rather than philosophy.
Away from Test cricket, Woakes is easing back from shoulder surgery, turning out for MI Emirates in the ILT20 before joining Sylhet Titans in the Bangladesh Premier League. His initial retirement call, he says, would have stood regardless of fitness.
“As soon as I made my statement of retiring, I’d made my decision. I was kind of happy to make that decision, regardless of what happened with regards to injury and recovery. But I recovered probably a little bit quicker than I expected. I expected it to probably cause me a few more issues than what it did. I worked hard on recovery and fitness so to get back was pleasing. Once I made my decision, I was never going to go back on that.”
The 34-year-old admits he felt a twinge of FOMO when he saw batters piling up runs on flatter Australian decks. “I have been to Australia many times but I have not bowled on wickets like that. So, it is a bit of a shame that I missed that one. But that’s the way it goes, and the game has changed a little bit, and certainly the wickets have changed in Australia, definitely.”
Two more seasons on the T20 circuit, plus a handful of county fixtures, remain on his playing agenda. Coaching is a likely next step.
“I would love to (be involved with England). I obviously I still want to play for at least a couple more years particularly franchise opportunities and a bit of county cricket. In the future that’s something which might excite me to (be involved).”
Looking ahead, Woakes backs former captain Joe Root to close in on Sachin Tendulkar’s all-time Test runs record. With Root 1,979 short of the mark, the maths suggests two bumper years could suffice. The message, though, mirrors Woakes’s own outlook: stay consistent, keep learning, and don’t throw away a method that mostly works simply because of one bad tour.
