Chris Woakes, the former England pacer, retired from international cricket after sustaining a shoulder injury during the final Test match of his career against India at The Oval in London this August. After the 36-year-old understood that he won’t be able to recover from injury and get fit in time for the Ashes series down under against Australia later this year, the decision was made by him to call time on his international career.
During his illustrious Test career for England, Chris Woakes played 62 matches, taking 192 wickets and scoring 2,034 runs, to play the role of the bowling all-rounder to the team, especially in home conditions. Ahead of the Ashes 2025-26 series in Australia, the Englishman stated that his former teammates, led by
the charismatic captain Ben Stokes, have a “great chance” to win it despite not claiming a single Test victory down under since 2011.
We are due a competitive performance down under and these guys have got that in the locker: Chris Woakes
It is important to note that Chris Woakes was an integral part of England on their last two tours to Australia for the Ashes series, which they lost 4-0 each. In his recent interview with BBC Radio 5 Live, he talked at length about the assignment for England down under by saying, “Going to Australia is a different beast. I'm hoping the guys can go and do a good job and we've got a great chance this time. We have great depth and a great squad. The lads in the first XI, if they can stay fit and on the field we have a hell of a chance.”
Also, Chris Woakes stated that England are due for great things at the Test level after building up nicely under head coach Brendon McCullum over the past couple of years. He remarked, “Ashes cricket is played with more venom behind it but these players have played a lot of international cricket and enough to know what it's about. We have been building nicely over the last few years but not quite got over the line in the big series, but it doesn't get any bigger than this.”
“We are due a competitive performance down under and these guys have got that in the locker,” he added just a month prior to the first Test of the Ashes series set to begin at the Optus Stadium in Perth on November 21.
