Chris Woakes has admitted he faces an uphill battle to repeat his dream of playing Ashes cricket at his beloved Edgbaston this summer.
The 34-year-old is unlikely to get another chance to take on the Aussies on his home turf which is why he is straining every sinew for Warwickshire to make it this time after a year out of the Test side.
But even though he has stayed at home to prove his worth in County Championship cricket rather than head to the IPL, he reckons the competition for places is even stiffer than the last time in 2019 when he was at the peak of his powers.
With James Anderson and Stuart Broad still dominating in the longest format and Ollie Robinson emerging as a world class Test bowler, it could require an injury to give Woakes even a look in for the squad come June 16th.
“I know if everyone was fit tomorrow and that team was picked, I wouldn’t be in it,” admitted Woakes, who will feature against Surrey tomorrow. “That’s the reality of it.
“A lot can happen in two months, people get injured and lose form, but I’m not in cuckooland thinking I’m going to play that first Ashes Test if the team was picked tomorrow.
“I’ve just got to make sure I’m in the right place so if the opportunity did arise, I’d be ready to go. It’s a massive summer. It’s similar to 2019, isn’t it? With an Ashes and World Cup in the same year.
“But I’d say the competition to play is tougher than in 2019. The way the guys have been playing under Ben (Stokes) and Baz (McCullum), they have taken 20 wickets in all conditions. To get back into that team is actually quite tricky.
“I feel like me coming back and playing for Warwickshire gives me the best opportunity to put my name in the hat. There’s no guarantee, but it gives me the best chance to do that.”
If Woakes doesn’t make it then the double World Cup winner who added the T20 crown to his 50 over gong in the winter, will be a star attraction in his first appearance in The Hundred.
Woakes has become a rather dependable white ball operator and his love of Birmingham makes him the ideal man to lead the Phoenix attack in August. But Stokes is not blind to his exceptional red ball record at home where, of the bowlers to take more than 20 wickets since his debut, only Anderson and Robinson have performed better.
“My game has always been built around red ball cricket,” he added. “Even my white ball stuff is built around being able to hit a length consistently. I spoke to Ben to see if he wants me to do anything differently but he is happy for me to just go about my business, do what I usually do and he said, “get yourself back into it, play some county cricket”.
