We know Chris Woakes is good in English conditions, but just how good is he at home?
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The headline numbers are genuinely extraordinary. Despite only appearing sporadically at home over the last few years, largely, but not always, down to injury, his all-round record rivals the all-time greats in English conditions.
At the time of writing, Woakes averages 35.50 with the bat and 22.10 with the ball in England. Using the simple metric of average differential (the figure you get when you subtract someone’s bowling average from their batting average), only Sir Garfield Sobers’ 21.94 betters Woakes’ 13.30 of players to feature in 20 or more Tests in England since World War Two.
For reference, the two great English post-war all-rounders both have inferior average differentials in England with Ian Botham on 7.38 and Ben Stokes on 9.54. The closest modern player to Woakes on this metric is actually Joe Root, whose average differential is 11.07.
As a pure bowler, his average of 22.10 stands up favourably against pretty much everyone who’s played Test cricket in England. The only post-war England seamers to take more than 50 wickets in home Tests at a better average than Woakes are Fred Trueman (20.04), Ollie Robinson (20.26), and Alec Bedser (21.55). England’s two 600-club members Stuart Broad and James Anderson average 25.79 and 24.21 in home Tests.
But raw averages spanning different eras don’t paint a complete picture. In home Tests featuring Woakes, both Anderson and Broad average marginally less than the Warwickshire all-rounder at home.
Broad has featured in 26 of Woakes’ 27 home Tests, averaging 21.82 in those matches. Anderson averages 20.10 in home Tests that he’s played alongside Woakes. Woakes’ career has coincided with a decline in run-scoring not just in England but globally. While his record with the ball in England is excellent, it’s not in a league above the other English seamers.
