England vs India: Chris Woakes return more important than ever before first Test at Headingley

It is reasonable to wonder where this England team and the entire Ben Stokes-Brendon McCullum project might be without Chris Woakes.

Two years ago, with England 2-0 down in a home Ashes, reputations and possibly jobs were on the line. Woakes was recalled when England were staring into the abyss.

Alongside his good mate Mark Wood, Woakes engineered victory at Headingley, the pair in the middle together when the winning runs were hit, then it was Woakes who did most of the work in Stuart Broad's send-off at The Oval. A 2-2 draw, Woakes the player of the series despite only playing three Tests.

"There are sliding doors moments in sport, even more so in Test cricket," the Warwickshire man tells BBC Sport after a gym session at Edgbaston.

"A lot had probably written us off. It was great to have such an impact on such a big series when the team needed it the most."

On Friday, Woakes returns to Leeds for the beginning of England's five-Test series against India. At 36, the oldest player in the squad, he has perhaps never been more important to an England team.

Amid the lust for high pace and an attack to win in Australia, it will be Woakes who bowls the first over for the home team, his accuracy and movement most likely to torment an Indian line-up lacking experience in English conditions.

In 2024, Woakes played nine Tests, his second-most in a calendar year in a career that began in 2013. Sam Cook's indifferent audition against Zimbabwe last month only served to enhance Woakes' importance.

Not that Woakes, with a well-deserved reputation as the nicest man in cricket, will talk up his role.

"I'm not a massive fan of 'attack leader' chat," he says. "An opener faces the first ball, but we don't say they are the leader of the batting."

Woakes prefers the idea of being the "senior" bowler, a mantle inherited when James Anderson retired last summer. Even then, Woakes would often give choice of ends to pacey rookie Gus Atkinson, or allow Anderson to get involved in choosing the ball when he moved into the role of bowling consultant.

After much prompting, Woakes finally concedes he will choose the ball at Headingley, then catches himself: "If I'm around," he says.

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