Chris Woakes

Some Lesser Known Facts About Chris Woakes

• Chris Woakes grew up in a family involved in sports in Great Barr on the edge of Walsall, north west of Birmingham.

• At the age of six, Woakes joined Aston Manor, a cricket club three miles away from his home, where he was coached by Keith Forman.

  

• He also played for the ‘Walmley Cricket Club’ in Sutton Coldfield, England, and the Four Oaks Saints Cricket Club.

• Apart from cricket, Woakes also played football in school and was even placed into Walsall FC’s school of excellence as a winger, and at the age of 14, he was offered a contract to play football.

  

• In August 2000, Warwickshire called him up as a replacement reserve player.

• While playing for Warwickshire, Woakes was coached by McCabe. He was also mentored by batting coach Neal Abberley and bowling coach Steve Perryman.

• When Woakes was 14 years old, Steve Perryman started working on his bowling skills and taught Woakes how to swing the ball.

  

• In 2006, he was chosen for the ‘Warwickshire’ cricket team and made his first-class debut against West Indies at Birmingham, England.

• He was also part of the England Lions, Herefordshire, Marylebone Cricket Club, Sydney Thunder, Warwickshire, and Wellington.

• In 2008, at the age of 19, he took 42 County Championship wickets, making it the breakthrough year in his career, following which he was picked for the Lions and made his Lions debut.

• In 2009, he scored his maiden first-class century against Hampshire.

• In July 2011, he took his 200th first-class wicket while playing for Warwickshire against Sussex in the County Championship.

• In 2011, he got selected for the England cricket team and played his first T20 International match against Australia in Adelaide, South Australia.

• After his Test debut in 2013, Woakes averaged 21 with the bat and 64 with the ball in his first six Tests.

• In 2014, during England’s tour to Sri Lanka, he took 6 wickets for 47 runs in the fifth match of the series, which was considered one of the best ODI bowling performances of the year.

  

• By 2016, Woakes had become an established Test player.

• During Pakistan’s tour to England in 2016, he took 11 wickets for 102 runs in the first Test at Lord’s and became the Player of the Series. ^[3]Lord’s

• In 2017, he was named Wisden’s ‘Cricketers of the Year.’

• In 2017, ‘Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) bought him for Rs 4.2 crore for the 2017 Indian Premier League (IPL) auction.

  

• England’s Trevor Bayliss, former coach of the KKR, had recommended his name to the KKR.

• In 2018, ‘Royal Challengers Bangalore’ (RCB) bought him for Rs 7.4 crore for the 2018 Indian Premier League (IPL) auction.

• In August 2018, he earned a position on both Lord’s honours boards after he scored his maiden Test century against India at Lord’s, making him the only ten cricketers to achieve this.

• According to Chris Woakes, his maiden Test century made him realize his ‘boyhood dream’ of raising the bat to a standing ovation at Lord’s.

  

• His three-wicket performance in the 2019 Cricket World Cup semi-final earned him the Player of the Match award. In the final match of the tournament, he again took three wickets.

• In June 2020, Woakes took his 100th Test wicket in the second Test against West Indies.

• During England’s Sri Lanka tour in 2021, he took his 150th ODI wicket.

• In March 2022, after he returned from England’s tour to the West Indies, he reported shoulder and knee injuries and a minor problem with an ankle following which he underwent knee surgery and was sidelined from first-class cricket for more than a year.

• Following a long lay-off due to a knee injury, Chris Woakes feared he might never play Test cricket again. ^[4]Sportstar

• Chris Woakes is among six English players who were part of both the 2019 ODI and 2022 T20 World Cup winning squad.

• Chris Woakes considers himself more than just a bowler. He says,
  

  A lot of people see me as a bowler but I feel like I’m more than a handy batsmen and see myself as an all-rounder. I feel like if I get myself in I can go on and get a score. I enjoy the challenge.”

• In December 2022, he received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Birmingham.

  

• In the 2023 Ashes, he took 19 wickets and was named England’s “player of the series.”

• On 19 December 2023, Chris was picked by Punjab Kings for Rs. 4.20 crore in the 2024 IPL auction against the base price of Rs. 2 crore; the auction was held at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai.

• He is often spotted consuming alcoholic beverages on various occasions.

  

• Chris Woakes is a coffee addict, and he brings a coffee machine around the world with him.

• He is a big supporter of the local football club Aston Villa F.C.