Chris Woakes eager to fill the void created by Stokes

England all-rounder Chris Woakes has expressed his desire to prove his worth with the bat in the absence of his fellow teammate Ben Stokes in the upcoming Ashes. Stokes has not travelled with the squad that travelled down under on Saturday. ECB has pulled his name out following his alleged involvement in the fight outside the nightclub in Bristol in September. He remains under investigation after being arrested on suspicion of causing actual bodily harm. However, the board hasn’t ruled him out of the series yet and might join the squad later if he is released from the case.

Woakes is a decent batsman and has played a few important knocks for his side whenever needed. But the absence of Stokes is a huge void to fill as he bats in the middle-order and his seam bowling is also exceptional. Chris is definitely not a certain starter when Stokes is in the team but now he might be bracing up for a key role ahead of the first Test match at the Gabba in Brisbane on November 23.

I will try to embrace the challenge

Chris Woakes believes the team will do well and is hoping that he will come good with the bat during the series. “Losing Ben as an all-rounder means myself, Moeen and I suppose even Jonny have more of a chance to prove our worth. If I am to bat higher up the order, I will try to embrace that challenge and look forward to the opportunity to get in and score some big runs,” he told reporters at Lord’s before flying to Australia.

“I have always tried to maintain a mindset of a batsman, something I have worked on for a good few years now, originally with Graham Gooch and more recently with Mark Ramprakash, to not just to be a guy who contributes down the order,” the Warwickshire paceman continued. He also pointed out that the conditions down under aren’t much different compared to at home and they would be benefitted by it.

“The rivalry speaks for itself whereas the conditions aren`t that much different to England, but in India they are. You face more spin on turning pitches which is something you`re not used to, but in Australia you face more fast bowling and generally the only real difference is less seam movement and more bounce. For an England cricketer going to Australia, in my eyes, is the pinnacle. There is such rivalry and such history and tradition, it is a great series to be a part of,” Woakes concluded ahead of maiden Ashes adventure.