"As suspected at the time, Chris Woakes bravely walking out to bat at the Oval in August, arm in a sling, crowd on their feet, was his final act as an England cricketer. Grimacing through the agony of a dislocated shoulder, it made for front page news and a fitting, albeit unwitting, exit. Few Test careers get endings like Stuart Broad's mic-drop at the same ground or the sentimental farewells laid on for Jimmy Anderson or Alastair Cook."
"Aged 36, with salt and pepper in the beard and the central contract expiring, there was really only one outcome. Though the wise old owl of the post-Anderson attack entrusted with overseeing its transition at home the numbers from two previous Ashes tours had made selection this winter touch and go, even before that shoulder popped. But those well-documented struggles on the road arrested a touch last winter, it should be said are not the epitaph."
Chris Woakes ended his England career aged 36 after bravely batting at the Oval with a dislocated shoulder, completing a full circle at the ground of his Test debut 12 years earlier. He departed with 192 Test wickets, more than 2,000 Test runs, two white-ball World Cup wins (2019 and 2022) and the Compton-Miller medal for player of the series in the 2023 Ashes. Road struggles made selection precarious before the injury, but career highlights included man-of-the-match in a World Cup semi against Australia, winning Ashes runs at Headingley and a Lord's century. Nicknamed "the Wizard", Woakes came from Great Barr and once flirted with professional football, while his central contract was due to expire.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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