Chris Woakes did his best to nudge his way into contention for England‘s first Test against the West Indies but is braced for disappointment when the sides convene at the Kensington Oval.
Woakes claimed the pick of the figures on the final day of warm-up action against a CWI President’s XI, removing top-scorer Sunil Ambris lbw and twice rattling the stumps for figures of 3-31 in the hosts’ 202 all out.
The Warwickshire man made things happen from a testing fuller length but by close of play it was hard to see the 29-year-old’s route into the side next week.
James Anderson and Stuart Broad are expected to be reunited after being parted for three Tests in the spin-dominated series in Sri Lanka, while Sam Curran appears to have leapfrogged his fellow all-rounder.
Not only does the latter boast a point of difference as a left-arm option, he has also found more swing than anyone since England landed in Barbados.
Woakes is aware he may be about to embark on another series on the sidelines but was pleased to offer a firm reminder of his own qualities before the serious business gets under way.
“The competition for places is high, especially coming off a 3-0 win in Sri Lanka, so it’s hard to force your way in,” he admitted. “When you get an opportunity like this you want to put your hand up and do what you do and I feel like it went reasonably well. I don’t feel like I can do any more.
“With selection if it goes your way it’s happy days and if it doesn’t you just keep working hard. I’ll work hard and remind the captain and coach I’m still around. Bowling teams out more than once in a day is never easy on any surface against any team.
“They had some players with Test experience in their team. We’ve bowled well as a team. It was good to get used to conditions and get some time in the legs and I feel we performed well over four days.”
The final make-up of England’s side on Wednesday morning will come down to their assessment of the pitch. Should they feel there is enough encouragement in it for the seamers, Curran would surely get the nod, but if it looks like taking plenty of turn there could be hope for Jack Leach to join Moeen Ali as a second spinner.
Having relied heavily on the spin triumvirate of Moeen, Leach and Adil Rashid in Sri Lanka, reversion to one specialist would be a significant rebalancing job but captain Joe Root is on hand as an ever-willing part-time option.
By Press Association Sport
