Veteran all-rounder Chris Woakes has made his return to competitive cricket after being sidelined since January 2025 due to an ankle injury. He is currently participating in the second four-day game between India A and England Lions, which is being held in Northampton. On Friday, June 6, Woakes demonstrated his prowess with the ball, making significant contributions by taking key wickets. He managed to dismiss both Yashasvi Jaiswal and Abhimanyu Easwaran early in the day, and later added Karun Nair to his tally, with all three dismissals being leg before wicket (LBW).
Woakes' performance has earned him a place in England's 14-man squad for the first Test of the upcoming five-match series against India, which is scheduled to begin on June 20. Reflecting on the upcoming series, the 36-year-old all-rounder acknowledged the recent retirements of prominent Indian cricketers Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma from Test cricket, noting that their absence is undoubtedly a loss for the game. However, despite the absence of these two stalwarts, Woakes believes that the Indian team will still pose a significant challenge for England in the five-match Test series, indicating that England will not be taking their opposition lightly.
"Had some good battles with Virat and Rohit over the years. For the game itself, it is a shame that they won't be there. But Indian cricket has so much depth that players that come in, I am sure they will be of very high standard who would have proven themselves in some way or another," Woakes was quoted as saying by ESPN Cricinfo.
"They'll be hard, regardless of the conditions, where you are playing them. Indian batters are always pretty good. It'll be a tough challenge," he added.KL Rahul put on a show with the bat on Day 1 of the second unofficial Test against England Lions to steady India A's bat. He cracked a magnificent 116 off 168 balls which was decorated with 15 fours and a six. Rahul's stellar knock earned Woakes' praise.
"KL played really well. Good hundred on a wicket which did a bit all day, there was periods when it went quiet when there wasn't much in the wicket. I think it did a bit for most of the day," Woakes added.
The second day of the match between India A and England Lions saw the conclusion of visitors' first innings, as they were bowled out for a total of 348 runs. Following this, England Lions while replying to India A faced an early setback when they lost the wicket of their opener, Ben McKinney, before the lunch. The breakthrough for India A was provided by Anshul Kamboj, who claimed the first wicket for his team. At the end of the day's play, England Lions find themselves trailing India A by 290 runs in the first innings.