England Boss Declares ‘The End’ For Veteran Pacer’s Test Career | Cricket News

England men’s managing director Rob Key on Wednesday bluntly declared that Chris Woakes is no longer in the team’s plans ‘at all’ after missing out on a ticket for the 2025 Ashes due to a shoulder injury. Key said Woakes was already ‘running out of time’ to be ready for the Ashes, but now the team has moved on.

Woakes suffered the injury while putting in a last-ditch dive on the field during the final Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. He made the effort despite being one of the only two pacers to have played all Tests of the gruelling rubber, and ended up dislocating it. He still came out to bat valiantly in the final innings, one-handed, and hung around to keep England alive before his partner Gus Atkinson’s wicket sealed India’s win.

“It’s been as tough a time for someone, I think, in cricket terms, the timing of it (the shoulder dislocation) as much as anything else, and the chance of reoccurence for the immediate future for Chris Woakes,” Key said, as quoted by  “He was running out of time to be ready for the start for the Ashes. And then once you get out of an Ashes series, you’re often looking at the next cycle, really. So Chris Woakes isn’t in our plans at the minute… at all,” he added.

The India series summarised Woakes well. On days when there was some help and grass on the wicket, he was lethal. But on mostly flat wickets, he struggled.  For similar reasons, he has struggled in Australia, averaging well over 50, but under Ben Stokes, he was enjoying a good patch, picking 62 wickets at 27.25.

Woakes hasn’t played ODIs and T20Is since 2023 either.

‘No ulterior motives’: Key on Brook VC choice

Key also explained the ‘pretty simple’ reasoning behind the decision to appoint Harry Brook as the vice-captain, removing Ollie Pope from the job.

“It’s pretty simple, really – we think (Brook) is the best person for the job,” Key said. “He has had more experience now in leadership and I think that Harry Brook deserves it. There are no other ulterior motives, other than the fact that we think Harry Brook is the best person to be the best vice-captain.

“I think he (Pope) felt that it was coming. Vice-captaincy is not always the most important decision you have to make. We could have gone down the road of not having a vice-captain. When Popey has done it, he’s done it well. He’s fitted into so many different roles that we’ve asked him to do over the past few years and done them all well. Harry Brook is just the better leader and will be the better leader going forward, so that’s why he gets that job,” he added.

Key rejected the idea that England are planning to drop Pope after stripping him of the extra responsibility, saying that the vice-captaincy wouldn’t stop them from snubbing a player.

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