Chris Woakes: I could bowl in the Ashes in Australia

Chris Woakes said he could open the bowling in the Ashes – although England apparently view him as a home specialist.

Woakes was the player of the series at last year’s Ashes, taking 19 wickets in three Tests and contributing some vital runs as England fought back to secure a 2-2 draw.

Despite that performance, Woakes was not selected for the tour of India last winter, largely due to his bowling average of 51.9 away from home. But Woakes, who made his Test match comeback in England’s crushing victory over the West Indies at Lord’s, believes he could still have a role to play in the 2025-26 Ashes, bringing the experience the attack now lacks after James Anderson followed Stuart Broad into retirement.

“I just don’t rule anything out,” Woakes said.

“It would be hard for me to just stand here and say I’m going to be the opening bowler in this Ashes – obviously my record away from home is probably not as good as it is at home. But at the same time, I’ve seen Stu and Jimmy develop as they’ve gotten older. And I still hope that I can potentially do the same, but I’ve said I’m not looking too far into the future.

“All my career in England I’ve always just looked at the next event, the next game, the next series, and tried to be in the best shape possible for that game, that series. I think once you start looking too far ahead, you get caught up in it.”

Woakes made his Test debut in 2013 and 11 years later, at 35, he is finally the longest-serving seam bowler and joked he was looking forward to being chosen for the ends for the first time. But with Matthew Potts, debutant Dillon Pennington and Mark Wood also in the squad, Woakes is not guaranteed to keep his place at Trent Bridge for the second Test on Thursday.

“There will be a lot of new players or bowlers coming into the team and giving the guys a chance, which is obviously required to progress,” said Woakes. “Obviously it will be a little different when I get the new ball, my role changes slightly and for most of my career I have always been first in line.

“When a new player comes into the team you try to impart a little bit of knowledge to them and I’ve been around long enough to hopefully be able to do that. Maybe I’ll have to do that a little bit more now that Stu and Jim are finished, but especially on the field maybe more than off it.”

Woakes added that his father’s recent death had given him a new perspective on cricket.

“It’s been an absolutely tough few months. It’s just one of those things in life that you probably never really believe is going to happen until it happens,” he said.

“Trying to get back into cricket has made it quite hard to concentrate on the job but I think when you’re back out there, particularly putting on the England Whites, it reminds you how lucky we are to do what we do. And seeing Jimmy this week – although it’s been a long time coming for him – it doesn’t last forever and you’ve got to try and enjoy every moment of being part of this team and being lucky enough to put on the Three Lions.

“My approach at the moment is to put things in perspective, just be happy to be here and try to give 110 percent.”

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