Chris Woakes was told to share a cab with Moeen Ali from Birmingham to Heathrow Airport ahead of England’s Test tour of Sri Lanka in January. The 32-year-old had to isolate for a week when his fellow passenger tested positive for COVID-19 after they arrived in the island nation.
This ruled Chris Woakes out of the first Test at Galle and eventually saw him miss every game in winter despite being voted player of the summer last season. The all-rounder recalled being frustrated with the hapless turn of events, adding that the winter felt like a ‘waste’ of form to him. He said:
Woakes feels he could have been a part of the playing XI for the first test.
After winning the two Tests in Sri Lanka, England lost the four-match test series in India. Moeen Ali featured in the India series for a solitary test before controversially heading home under the workload-management policy.
“The IPL was very much on my shoulders” - Chris Woakes
Chris Woakes also missed the recent two-test series against New Zealand but admitted that he had himself to blame for this one. The ECB offered the players, who played in IPL 2021, a break from the home series and Woakes accepted it to be with his family.
Chris Woakes has now been named in the squad for England’s T20 series against Sri Lanka. If given the opportunity, Woakes will feature in a T20I after almost six years.
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