With two defeats in three matches, England’s start to ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 has been far away from what was expected. One of the main reasons behind the same is their failure to pick early wickets with a new ball. All-rounder Chris Woakes, who is their premier new-ball bowler, going through a rough patch isn’t helping either. Woakes, in fact, has never managed to show his potential in Indian conditions.
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Known to pick early wickets and score handy runs down the order, Woakes hasn’t been able to do either of his two primary tasks in this competition thus far. As quoted by Sky Sports, former New Zealand pacer Simon Doull is one of the several high-profile critics of the right-arm bowler.
“[Chris] Woakes is usually so metronomic, bowls that line and length you are worried about time and time again [as a batter] but I haven’t seen that. I can see he is trying too hard in his body language. I also know he is not a great traveler and that is an issue in this tournament,” Doull had told Sky Sports.
With England playing three games across as many cities, Woakes has performed well below par. Having bowled 18 overs till now, he has conceded 135 runs at an economy rate of 7.50 with just two wickets to his name. Woakes, who used to do much better under former captain Eoin Morgan, is currently undergoing a change in fortune under Jos Buttler.
Average And Strike Rate Of Chris Woakes Has Doubled Under Jos Buttler
Woakes, a very large part of whose ODI career had come under Morgan, hasn’t been able to return with similar numbers under his successor. In Morgan’s captaincy, Woakes had scalped 120 wickets across 78 innings at an average and strike rate of 28.24 and 31.9. On the contrary, he has scalped just 10 wickets across 13 innings under Buttler with the above two criterion doubling to 56.50 and 58.3.
A chief reason behind the same could be scanty ODI appearances in the recent years. After playing 19 ODIs in 2019, where he scalped as many as 29 wickets, Woakes played a total of just nine ODIs across the next three years. Woakes, who has been struggling to get his lines right with a white ball, is perhaps also missing the assistance offered by the red cherry in English conditions.
Despite the aforementioned numbers, Woakes has Buttler’s constant backing. Following England’s embarrassing defeat against Afghanistan in Delhi on Sunday, Buttler called Woakes a “class” player before rejecting any idea to drop him from the Playing XI on Sky Sports.
“He [Chris Woakes] has been such a brilliant bowler for a very long period of time. So, you keep backing that. He has probably not performed as he would like at the start of this tournament but you keep backing class players,” Buttler has said.
If truth be told, Buttler’s confidence in Woakes is justified as well as he is the sixth-highest wicket-taker among Englishmen in the history of this format. In fact, the 34-year old player is their second-highest wicket-taker (highest among the pacers) since his ODI debut. Only spinner Adil Rashid, who himself struggles in India, has better numbers than him in the 50-over format in this period.
Chris Woakes Has Never Performed In India
Woakes’ aforementioned numbers aren’t England’s only concern with respect to him. In the larger scheme of things, what is even more worrying is the fact that Woakes’s record in India is pretty ordinary. Woakes, who is often criticized for not being able to match his performance in and outside England, is yet to crack the code with respect to performing in Indian conditions.
Readers must note that Woakes has picked 10 wickets across eight ODIs in India at an economy and strike rate of 6.54 and 38.40 respectively. Lack (or scarcity) of seam movement on Indian pitches could be a reason behind the same. Woakes, who relies heavily on the new ball to get wickets, is mostly found wanting because of the same.
On the other hand, England’s cold and overcast weather conditions help Woakes in this process unlike India. In fact, Woakes is not the only swing bowler who is struggling in this World Cup. Pakistan speedster Shaheen Shah Afridi has also not been able to move the ball as well as he would’ve liked.
All-rounder David Willey and fast bowler Gus Atkinson are two of the six English pacers who are yet to play in this World Cup. Having said that, England might still look to give a player of Woakes’ pedigree another chance in their next match against South Africa in Mumbai. Since pacers might get some movement on a red-soil wicket, especially under lights, Buttler might continue to play Woakes assuming they don’t give his spot to spin-bowling all-rounder Moeen Ali.
