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England all-rounder Chris Woakes opened up on dealing with the grief of losing his father recently and his chances of playing the Ashes series in Australia in 2025-26.
Woakes revealed in June that his father passed away at the beginning of May, which forced him out of professional cricket for months. In the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, Woakes roped in the Punjab Kings (PBKS) squad for a whopping price of 4.20 crore rupees, however, he did not appear in a single match of the tournament. Following this, he was also not added to the England squad for the T20 World Cup in 2024. Speaking to the reporters on Sunday ahead of the second Test against West Indies starting from July 18 at Trent Bridge, Woakes said that a loss of a parent is something you do not think will happen untill it happens. "It was one of those things in life that you probably never really think is going to happen until it does. Trying to get back into cricket, it has been quite hard to focus on the day job but once you get back out there and particularly putting on the England whites, it reminds you how lucky we are to do what we do," said Woakes. Despite this shattering personal loss, Woakes said that his approach is to keep things in perspective and give his 110 per cent. In the first Test against the West Indies, which ended in three days recently, Woakes scored 23 runs in one inning and took a wicket. On his chances of playing the away Ashes series in Australia in 2025-26, Woakes expressed some doubt because of his away record not being as good as his record in home conditions, but expressed hope that he could evolve like legendary pacers James Anderson and Stuart Broad as he gets older. "It would be hard for me to just stand here and say I'll be the opening bowler in the Ashes because obviously my away record isn't as good as at home. But at the same time, I have looked at Stuart [Broad] and Jimmy [Anderson] evolve as they have gotten older, and I still hope that I can potentially do the same," Woakes said. In home conditions, Woakes has scored 1,054 runs at an average of 32.93 in 29 Tests and 43 innings, with a century and five fifties and a best score of 137*. He is also lethal with the ball at home, taking 114 wickets in these games at an average of 22.04, with five five-wicket hauls and a ten-wicket hauls. However, in away conditions, Woakes has taken just 36 wickets in 20 Tests at an average of 51.88, with no five-wicket or ten-wicket hauls. With the bat, he has scored 723 runs at an average of just 21.90, with just one fifty in 37 innings. (ANI)
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