Woakes bound for recall to Test XI

Cricket365
July 4, 2014

National selector James Whitaker has all but guaranteed England seamer Chris Woakes a second Test cap this month.

Woakes has been named in several Test squads but has only been capped once, against Australia at The Oval in August 2013. July 2013, however, will likely bring a recall.

The 25-year-old has been included in the 13-man collective for next week's opener against India. While he probably won't play at Trent Bridge, participation is highly probable across the remainder of the five-match series.

"We have got five Test matches in a very short space of time and one of the reasons to include six seamers there is that we believe at some stage they're all going to play," said Whitaker.

"At the start of the series, while they're talking about the Indians and strategy and tactics, it makes sense to include that group so they get the first-hand knowledge straight away.

"We would like to think that the four who get picked on the day play brilliantly well and stay fantastically fit and the world's perfect, but realistically we need a group."

All-rounder Stuart Broad and wicketkeeper-batsman Matt Prior's ongoing recovery from respective knee and Achilles injuries was evident during last month's one-nil Test series defeat to Sri Lanka. The pair, meanwhile, have been retained.

"We know they are 100 percent fit, they have been passed off fit by the medical team to be included, but they did just play back-to-back Tests and there will be fatigue that builds up," added Whitaker.