'That sort of paid off': England's comeback man reveals his careering defining decision

The Ashes 2023 series has been full of surprises so far, as Australia won the first two Tests at Edgbaston and Lord’s after dominating the game, but during the third Test, England showed that the tournament is not over yet after beating the World Test Champions by three wickets at Headingley.

 3 things you need to know

• Australia are leading the Ashes so far by a score of 2-1
• Australia are the current WTC champions
• Chris Woakes made a shining comeback to Test Cricket

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ENG vs AUS: Chris Woakes was a key member for England in the 3rd test

Prior to his outstanding performance in the third Ashes 2023 Test, Chris Woakes, who was instrumental in England's stunning triumph at Headingley, admitted that he had worried whether or not his Test career would continue. With a three-wicket victory at Headingley, Leeds,  Chris showcased his skill with both the bat and the ball, playing a crucial role in England's series comeback. The multi-talented all-rounder took six wickets in the contest and contributed a decisive 32-run innings in the second innings to help England successfully chase down the mark and close the series deficit to 2-1.

Due to an injury, he faced last summer, the all-rounder saw his cricket team use “Bazball” under captain Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum, as they were successful in using the technique in Test cricket. In order to be part of England’s Team in the longest form of cricket, the star player decided not to participate in the IPL 2023. The 34-year-old player believes that it was the best decision for him at that period of time. 

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What did the player say about his return to the test squad?

Talking to The Telegraph, Chris Woakes expressed himself as he thought that he would never be able to return to the squad and his Test career was over as he claimed that he thought that the ‘ship had sailed’. The 34-year-old went on to express that his reason for missing the Indian Premier League this season was justified with victory in the 3rd Test as he is happy with the decision.

It’s hard, it’s quite emotional actually,” Woakes said. “You sometimes think the ship has sailed, of course you do. Especially when the team is going so well last summer and I wasn’t involved, obviously I had injuries and stuff. You do wonder whether that ship has sailed. But I made a big decision at the start of summer not to go to India and, you know, it’s days like I had at Headingley make that sort of decision pay off, comfortably.

England vs Australia 4th Test will be played on July 19 at Old Trafford,  Manchester. ENG vs AUS will be a crucial match as Australia will eye their Ashes victory on England soil since 2001 and England will eye to win their first Ashes since 2015.