NZ vs ENG 2018: Chris Woakes Joins Elite List of English Players

New Zealand won a nail-biting thriller against England in the opening ODI.

The victory was primarily built around some exceptional batting by Ross Taylor, Tom Latham, and Mitchell Santner. Despite the win, New Zealand might be dealt with a blow as their skipper Kane Williamson is a doubtful starter for the 2^nd ODI. Hence England’s chances of coming back in the five-match series have been brightened.

Mark Chapman is expected to replace Williamson, as the batsman while Tim Southee will take up the captaincy role.

Meanwhile, England will look to make a turnaround and level the series. They are likely to play the same side. Meanwhile, in the opening ODI, English all-rounder Chris Woakes became the 4^th English player to bag 100 wickets and scored 1000 runs in the ODI cricket.

Earlier Ian Botham, Andrew Flintoff, and Paul Collingwood were the players from England to achieve the feat.

“I had no idea until I saw the Barmy Army on Twitter,” Woakes said. “It’s nice to be in that sort of company, on that list, to have only three getting there before. I feel like I’ve got much more to take, a lot more to do, but it’s very nice to join those sort of names.

“Over the last 18-months, it’s been really good to be a part of the team on a regular basis. I feel my performances have grown because of that. Scoring runs is not as high on the agenda compared to the wickets side of things, but the more I contribute, the better.”

 A more confident man now

Woakes is a confident man now after running a long way during the Ashes series. He bagged only ten wickets, but in the ODI series campaign, Woakes played a very important role, as England thrashed the hosts by a 4-1 margin.

Woakes was rested for the T20I Tri-series involving New Zealand and Australia. He spent around two weeks at home.

“It’s always nice to go back and spend some time in your own bed and own house – catch up with people that you are close to but actually spend a lot of time away from. It’s definitely worth the round-the-world trip – to get a couple of weeks at home is really refreshing.”

“I think given how long the winter was and how long the games have been, it’s been quite an intense winter particularly with the Ashes and one-dayers that followed,” Woakes added.

“It was quite important to get that mental break rather than the physical side of things. To come back in, I felt like I went alright in that first game (in Hamilton). You’d always like a few more overs under your belt, but I think the mental break was probably worth the sacrifice for a couple more days’ practice.”

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