Ahead of England’s opening Test towards India in Leeds, the house bowling line-up was below the microscope.
Both Chris Woakes and Ben Stokes hadn’t bowled a lot within the lead-up, and Josh Tongue and Brydon Carse had been inexperienced.
But over the course of the match, Woakes’ physique held up for 43 overs and Stokes’ for 35, and Tongue and Carse scalped a mixed 11 wickets. Jofra Archer’s return to Test-match health simply made all the pieces sweeter.
“It was a huge week for us, obviously better for myself,” mentioned Woakes, whose house floor is Edgbaston right here. “I felt I could have bowled better in the second innings, but the body felt good.”
Woakes, a 36-year-old veteran of 58 Test matches, said that he was having fun with the function of being the lead pacer.
“I’ve played a lot of my England games with Jimmy [James Anderson] and Broadie [Stuart Broad]. It is different not having them around. But it’s also a great opportunity for myself and it’s good to pass on a little bit of knowledge to the younger guys who haven’t played as much Test cricket. And I am also learning from them.”
One of the largest pluses from the sequence starter was Stokes’ persistence and tenacity on the sector.
“He doesn’t do things in half measures,” Woakes mentioned of his captain. “When he’s training, he’s training. When he has time off, he has time off.
“When he’s doing his work, it’s a real pleasure to watch.
“Obviously, with the injuries that he’s had, he’s probably just doubled down on his fitness to make sure he’s in the best shape possible to lead this team at his best.
“And he certainly did that last week and hopefully there’s more of that. His relentlessness and energy on the ball were as good as I’ve seen for a long time.”
England XI for second Test:
Ben Stokes (Capt.), Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wk), Josh Tongue and Chris Woakes.
