Woakes’ woes underline England’s World Cup troubles،
There’s not much difference between hard-earned confidence and blind faith. As England travel to Mumbai on Monday and pick up the bones of their shock 69-run defeat to Afghanistan, they will have to decide which of the two they will put in Chris Woakes.
Woakes led England’s ODI attack for eight years and was one of the most valuable players during that period. At his best, he takes wickets with the new ball before keeping things tight with the old ball. He combines stability and power with the No. 8 bat, and he makes tough opportunities look easy in the outfield.
But Woakes has not been at his best in England’s first three matches of this World Cup – far from it. In all three cases, he wasted one of the two new balls by dishing out half-volleys to the opposition fly-halfs in Devon Conway, Litton Das and, on Sunday afternoon, Rahmanullah Gurbaz. In his three new-ball spells, his combined numbers were 11-0-95-1.
Their first match against Afghanistan was a shock from which England never fully recovered. Woakes started the day by spraying the very first ball down the leg side, and Jos Buttler’s fumble meant Afghanistan were 5 for 0 before they faced a legitimate delivery. “I missed one: that set the tone for the first 10 overs,” Buttler said after the match.
Woakes again struggled to find a good line and length, floundering when Gurbaz put him under pressure. With a short boundary on the leg side to defend, he was swung to midwicket for the first six and responded by overcorrecting, hanging the ball outside off and being driven for four in a row.
He was unfortunate at times: his numbers would have been better with better on-field support, Jonny Bairstow misjudging a point ball in addition to Buttler’s early error. Yet it was the third consecutive match in which the leader of the English attack looked helpless with the new ball.
It wasn’t difficult to diagnose the problem. Far too often, Woakes has strayed from the line and length that makes his seam movement so effective. This is mainly due to excessive throwing: according to ball-by-ball data from ESPNcricinfo, he threw 13 “full” balls in the first power play, which cost 32 points.
Perhaps the most telling moment occurred in Afghanistan’s 25th innings. After conceding 106 for 0 in the first 14 overs, England’s spinners – Adil Rashid and Liam Livingstone – retreated after a drink. In the next 10 overs, Afghanistan made 33 for 3 and Buttler sensed an opportunity to reintroduce Woakes.
But Azmatullah Omarzai, a 23-year-old all-rounder who is in the top five for only the third time in his ODI career, saw things differently. The second ball of Woakes’ second spell was an attempted cut which went missing down the leg side for six. Two balls later, when Woakes went completely outside off stump, Omarzai opened his face to pick up four more to point.
And that was it. Woakes was out of the attack six balls after his return and was deemed unusable for the rest of the inning. He finished with figures of 0 for 41 from his four overs. The last time he bowled so little in a full ODI innings was six years ago, when he put his team to the test in his second over.
Woakes’ reputation as a disgruntled traveler is justified by his test record; less in ODIs. His record overseas (96 wickets at 32.33) is not much worse than at home (69 at 27.91) and there will be surfaces in this tournament that suit him much more than Delhi – notably the Wankhede, where England v South Africa is the first match the stadium will host in this tournament on Saturday.
Buttler was asked about Woakes in several media interactions after the match and made it clear that he would continue to be supported. “He’s been a top leader of our offense for a long time,” he told the BBC. “I still have enormous confidence in him.” On Skyhe said: “He’s been a brilliant bowler for a very long time and he’s a class guy, so you keep backing that.
A classy guy? Few would dispute that sentiment, but the comment was jarring: how was it relevant to his form, or his likely retention in the England squad to face South Africa on Saturday night? Buttler called him a “class bowler” in another interview; perhaps it was a slip of the tongue and he should be given the benefit of the doubt.
Woakes was not the only England bowler to struggle in Delhi. Sam Curran had his worst ODI spell, losing 46 runs in four wicketless overs – including 18 in the 46th over, as Mujeeb Ur Rahman swung from the hip – and, like Woakes, is yet to contribute with the bat to this tournament. There is every chance that David Willey will replace him against South Africa.
Yet Woakes’ status as leader of England’s attack – and Buttler’s unequivocal support – means he is the bowler who finds himself under real pressure. He has started tournaments slowly before: just look at the 2019 ODI World Cup, where he took 6 for 57 in the semi-final and final. Unless he shows similar improvement this time around, England’s bid for back-to-back World Cups will be over before it begins.
