England vs Pakistan 2016: Chris Woakes can bat in top six after starring with the ball, says James Taylor

Rising to the Test: Chris Woakes stays focused despite coming under severe pressure against Pakistan
Stu Forster/Getty Images
James Taylor21 July 2016

Chris Woakes showed his class as a Test bowler at Lord’s but I believe he could eventually bat in the top six for England. He is also one of my closest friends in cricket.

Last Saturday, my fiancee and I were at the house Chris shares with his girlfriend when he was taking his five for 32 in Pakistan’s second innings at Lord’s. He ended up with 11 wickets in the match and we were all absolutely thrilled for him.

Woakesy and I have always spent a fair bit of time together on tours. In South Africa last winter, we’d go out for dinner most nights and then watch a TV series — Luther or Peaky Blinders.

Even when we were on opposite sides — him playing for Warwickshire, me for Nottinghamshire — we’d always socialise during the game, even when he got me out, as he did towards the end of the day during a Championship match at Edgbaston.

I have played with and against Woakesy since we were involved with the Midlands Under-17s side more than 10 years ago, so I know his game inside out. Back then, he was what you might call a ‘pretty’ bowler — very easy on the eye, great technique, amazing seam position — but without real pace.

That’s something he’s developed relatively recently, as well as becoming more skilful. So he’s a serious danger for Pakistan — with both bat and ball.

Here is a question I sometimes ask people: Who has the better first-class batting average, Ben Stokes or Chris Woakes? Instinctively, you would say Stokes, because he is a proven match-winner for England, with three Test hundreds, including a double-century. But here are the figures: Woakes 37, Stokes 34.

It’s a similar story with the ball. Woakes takes his first-class wickets at less than 25 apiece, Stokes at 30. Many people are surprised when you tell them this.

That is not a dig at Ben, who has shown exactly how good he can be for England during his 80 international matches. If he returns to the team for the Second Test against Pakistan, he will be a huge asset.

But we saw in England’s failed run chase at Lord’s how good Chris can be as a batsman. Under severe pressure, he and Jonny Bairstow managed to build a partnership that started to tilt the balance back in England’s favour.

With Wahab Riaz bowling brilliantly from the Nursery End, they found a way to survive. They understood the need to stay in their bubble, soak up the pressure and not be ultra-aggressive. You can’t do that unless you’re a very good batsman, which is why I’m sure that, in time, Woakesy can move further up the order.

At the moment, he is perfect at No8, though he could slide down to No9 for this Test if Stokes comes back into the team. In first-class cricket, he is good enough to bat in the top five.

Now he is full of confidence, he needs to capitalise and make a big score. He had his eye on a hundred against Sri Lanka at Lord’s but was outfoxed by Rangana Herath for 66. He then scored a brilliant 95 not out in the one-dayer against Sri Lanka at Trent Bridge. So he is in form and if he gets in again, he is definitely capable of scoring a century.

What has clicked with him? I’ve talked about the extra pace and skill but it’s really all about confidence. Though I’ve never known Chris doubt himself, there’s always a difference between believing you can do something and then actually doing it.

He should probably have had more chances than he was given by England before this summer and it meant that he was performing only intermittently. You always need a bit of luck, too, and Stokes’s injury in the Headingley Test against Sri Lanka gave Woakesy the chance he needed for the following match at Durham.

Taking a nine-for in the game before that Test, playing for Warwickshire, was exactly what Woakesy needed and he hasn’t looked back since. He can be a key man for this England side for years to come.

The trio having a blast in T20 game

(Tony Marshall/Getty Images)

I've seen a fair bit of T20 Blast cricket this summer and seen some good performances but three players have stood out.

Liam Livingstone’s 23-ball 55 for Lancashire against Yorkshire in June was an unbelievable knock. The speed of his hands, how cleanly he struck it and the power of his hitting caught the eye.

Never mind the clever shots — the hardest players to bowl to in Twenty20 are those who can smash the bowler straight back over his head.

At just 20, Joe Clarke is a player with enormous potential. The Worcestershire batsman appears to have the full package — exactly what a coach or captain would want. He is very confident, you can tell he wants to improve and he has been scoring runs at a young age. I have not seen too many like him.

Brett D’Oliveira, an all-rounder who also plays for Worcester, has impressed me with both bat and ball and he is a great fielder. He’s come on in leaps and bounds this year.

I played with Brett when I was younger and I was coached by his late father, Damian. I’m so pleased both for Brett and his family to see him make progress in the game.

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