Comeback hero Chris Woakes ‘desperate’ for fourth Ashes test spot
- Lindokuhle Mbuyisa
- 14 July 2023
England all-rounder Chris Woakes has expressed his eagerness to retain his spot in the team for the fourth test of the Ashes series following his impressive performance at Headingley.
Chris Woakes says he is "desperate" to be part of the fourth Ashes test at Old Trafford Cricket Ground.
The right-arm seamer played a crucial role in the hosts' victory over Australia in the third Ashes test last week, picking up three wickets in each innings and also hitting the winning runs with an important unbeaten knock of 32 to help the English to a three-wicket win.
Woakes had not played a test match for England in nearly 16 months before being selected for the third test at Headingley, and his performance should give him a good chance of being selected for the test match in Manchester.
"When you get the opportunity to play in an Ashes series then you try and take it with both hands," said Woakes to SkySports.
"I feel like last week went very well for myself and the team and when you win a game of cricket you obviously want to be part of the next game.
"I'm obviously desperate to be part of next week, but at the same time I'll get there, try and perform well in practice, do my right prep and the selection is out of my control. What will be, will be but hopefully, I get the nod."
The 34-year-old was playing his first match under the leadership of head coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes, who have adopted the "Bazball" strategy, which Woakes has embraced.
"It has been great to watch from the sides but now to be out there and in the middle is an amazing feeling," said Woakes.
"All they're trying to do is take that fear of failure away from players, go out there and express yourself. We've realised we've got an incredibly talented squad, so it's just about letting players go out there, play their way and have the backing of the dressing room.
"It very much feels that way. You're backed however you want to go about your business out in the middle. They're very much all about trying to win and that's always at the forefront of the mind.
England will head to Old Trafford hoping to level the series after being 2-0 down and set up a grand finale at The Oval to what has already been an intriguing series.
"It's going to be another tight Test match," admitted Woakes.
"There's no doubt that Australia are a world-class side and are incredibly hard to beat and we've seen that across the series, but I think we're confident that we can go there and put in another strong performance to get the win."
The fourth test match of the Ashes is set to commence on July 19.
