England’s bowling has evolved in rapid fashion. From the first Ashes Test last summer, Anderson and Broad have taken their pipe and slippers, while Ollie Robinson is on the naughty step. Moeen Ali is another in Test retirement and the man he covered, Jack Leach, has been overlooked.
It might be a stretch to say the attack has been refreshed when it contains 35-year-old Chris Woakes and 34-year-old Mark Wood, though Shoaib Bashir only made his first-class debut last June and Gus Atkinson is England’s new-ball bowler despite opening on just three previous occasions for Surrey.
Of the quartet, it is Woakes who is coming under most scrutiny, curious for a man who transformed the Ashes and walked away as player of the series.
The question is logical enough. If Anderson is being pensioned off at 41 because he won’t make it to Australia then why is Woakes, an inferior bowler (that’s not an insult, most bowlers are inferior to Anderson) and suffering from chronic travel sickness (he averages more than 50 overseas compared to 22 at home), England’s new attack leader?
Stokes said he couldn’t answer the question without sounding “ageist” and admitted that all who remain in the squad are in contention for the Ashes tour.
Woakes’ ability to score runs at number eight is a key advantage. Yes, he was overlooked for the tour of India, albeit in a squad containing three fast bowlers in a series where England sometimes only played one.
If five or six are to travel to Australia, there is a role for him, providing lower-order ballast and bowling legs to the likes of Wood, Atkinson, Josh Tongue and maybe Jofra Archer, who would be used in short bursts.
It has been a tough period for Woakes following the death of his father and he was down on pace on Friday in Nottingham, but showed his worth to come back energised late in the day and claim the crucial wicket of Hodge.
Pace is not lacking for Wood, who England would quite happily cryogenically freeze for the next year and a bit to ensure he is on the plane down under. His bowling at Trent Bridge was electrifying, the fastest ever recorded by an England bowler in a home Test.
