Chris Woakes has had a very typical English cricketing story. He made his international debut at a young age, sporadically played for a few years, before having his breakout season a few years into his career. Woakes’ England Cricket Team debut came in 2011, and that magical summer, where he graduated from a prospect to a crucial part of the team, happened in 2016.
Now that Chris Woakes has announced his retirement, we can look back on his career and recognise it for his brilliance. The bowling all-rounder had the ability to bowl, what Paul Collingwood once said, “90mph legbreaks.”
Chris Woakes Stats: Bowling
| Format | Matches | Ins. | Balls | Wics. | Runs | BBI | BBM | Avg. | Econ. | S/R | 4w | 5w | 10w |
| Tests | 62 | 118 | 11219 | 192 | 5686 | 6/17 | 11/102 | 29.61 | 3.04 | 58.4 | 05 | 05 | 01 |
| ODIs | 122 | 118 | 5737 | 173 | 5193 | 6/45 | 6/45 | 30.01 | 5.43 | 33.1 | 11 | 03 | 00 |
| T20Is | 33 | 33 | 611 | 31 | 822 | 3/4 | 3/4 | 26.51 | 8.07 | 19.7 | 00 | 00 | 00 |
Chris Woakes Stats: Batting
| Format | Matches | Ins. | Runs | B.F. | H.S. | Avg. | S/R | N.O. | 4s | 6s | 50s | 100s | 200s |
| Tests | 62 | 118 | 2034 | 3843 | 137* | 25.11 | 52.92 | 18 | 256 | 09 | 07 | 01 | 00 |
| ODIs | 122 | 118 | 1524 | 1710 | 95* | 23.81 | 89.12 | 24 | 118 | 21 | 06 | 00 | 00 |
| T20Is | 33 | 33 | 147 | 117 | 37 | 16.33 | 125.64 | 08 | 09 | 07 | 00 | 00 | 00 |
Chris Woakes Stats: Fielding
| Format | Matches | Catches |
| Tests | 62 | 31 |
| ODIs | 122 | 50 |
| T20Is | 33 | 12 |
Chris Woakes Career Overview
Christopher Roger Woakes was born on March 2, 1989, in Birmingham, West Midlands, England. Having started playing cricket at the age of seven, he represented Warwickshire County at the junior levels in the early 2000s. Not only that, but he also played football at a young age, having been a trainee footballer with Walsall FC until the age of 14.
Woakes made his senior county debut in the 2006 season. In his first full season with Warwickshire in 2008, the pacer took 42 wickets at an astounding average of 20.57. And so, in April 2009, at the age of 20, he was picked for the England Lions squad. In his first game for the side against the West Indies, he bowled a spell of 6/43. The same year, he also scored his first first-class century, making 131 against Hampshire while batting at No. 9.
After a couple of seasons of standout domestic performances, Chris Woakes made his international debut on January 12, 2011, against Australia in a T20I. He also made his ODI debut on the same tour against the Aussies. After a year off the national side, Woakes would return to the English setup in 2012 for ODIs against South Africa, making his Test debut soon after during the 2013 Ashes series.
In 2013, the lanky pacer became an ODI regular for the England Cricket Team while also making sporadic appearances in T20Is. However, by 2016, Woakes was 27 years old, playing in a few limited-overs matches. But it seemed that his Test career, in which he had played only six matches in three years, was over. But then came the Test against Sri Lanka at Chester-le-Street, for which he replaced an injured Ben Stokes.
Figures of 9/36 were the start of Chris Woakes becoming a modern-day legend for England. In that summer of 2016, Woakes regularly bowled at over 90 mph and found incredible movement. By this time, although the pace all-rounder was a well-respected player in England, he would soon become a household name in world cricket.
In 2017, Woakes signed his first IPL contract, having been bought by the Kolkata Knight Riders for Rs. 4.2 Cr. In the 13 matches he played that season, Chris took 18 wickets. Then in the summer of 2018, he would take his career-best spell of 11/102 against Pakistan at Lord’s.
In the summer of 2019, Woakes played a massive role in winning the ODI World Cup at home. Not only was he the Player of the Match in the semi-final against Australia for his spell of 3/14, but he also took three wickets in the dramatic final against New Zealand. He became a world champion again three years later, winning the 2022 T20I World Cup with the England Cricket Team.
Chris Woakes played his last T20I in 2023 and his last ODI in the very same year during the ODI World Cup in India.
Now only representing the Three Lions in Test cricket, he had decent performances in the three Ashes matches he played in 2023. Most recently, he played all five matches of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy against India.
But after not being picked in the squad for the upcoming Ashes series against Australia, Woakes announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket. However, his final ever international game has been etched into the minds of everyone who watched it. Having injured his shoulder earlier in the match, and with England needing a no. 11 batter, Woakes walked out to bat with one arm in the sling.
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