Chris Woakes Reveals ECB Apologised For The Taxi Incident Which Ruined His Winter

England fast bowling all-rounder Chris Woakes revealed that he had received apologies from the English Cricket Board (ECB) for asking him to take a cab which became a factor to leave him out from the playing XI. Woakes was asked to take a cab alongside Moeen Ali to the Heathrow Airport for the Sri Lanka tour in January.

Unfortunately, Moeen Ali tested positive for the virus which meant that Woakes had to be isolated for one week. He was subsequently ruled out for the Galle Test and from there on, he hasn’t played a single test yet for England despite being in red hot form in his last series.

Woakes played crucial a part in the series wins against West Indies and Pakistan and also in the ODI series against Australia to vote him the player of the last summer.

“I Paid The Price For That” – Chris Woakes

Chris Woakes explained the incident to be a big moment and how unfortunate he was to miss out due to the isolation. He revealed that he was frustrated and it was the only thing that got into his head in the Covid-19 time. He added that he paid the price for the bad decision to share the cab.

“It was a big moment and there have been apologies but we were put in an unfortunate situation and I missed out because of that. I vented my frustration at the time. No stone has been left unturned during COVID-19 but that’s the one thing we did not get right. I paid the price for that,” Chris Woakes was quoted in Daily Mail.

Chris Woakes Wanted To Make The Most Of His Form

Chris Woakes believed that he had a relative chance in the first Test at Galle and he was eager to put up strong performances whenever he got a chance. He added that he wasted the whole winter after being in excellent form in the summer and he was desperate to make the most out of his red hot form which did not happen.

“I thought I was a shoo-in for the first Test. It doesn’t mean I would have then played all Tests but I would have had a chance to put my hand up and put in a strong performance. Not playing all winter after the summer I had, feels like a waste. You want to make the most of your form when you’re hot,” Chris Woakes added.

Chris Woakes has been picked up for the T20I series against Sri Lanka and he might well get a game there soon.