Chris Woakes says IPL not to blame for injury as England's Liam Plunkett vows to step up
Friday 2 June 2017 18:55, UK
Chris Woakes says a recent Indian Premier League stint is not to blame for the injury which has ended his Champions Trophy campaign.
Woakes was less than two overs into his opening spell against Bangladesh when he suffered the side strain that will rule him out for the rest of the tournament.
The diagnosis deprives England of a key new-ball and death bowler and comes after Ben Stokes, who was also away at the IPL, struggled with a knee injury in the run-up to the opening game.
England chiefs sanctioned their involvement along with Jos Buttler as the bulk of the Champions Trophy squad took on Ireland in two one-day internationals.
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And Woakes said: "When I came back from the IPL, my body felt as good as it can be. I felt in a good space physically and mentally, and I was confident too because I bowled well out there.
"There were no signs of my side being tight or sore before the game yesterday, so it's just one of those things and you have to take it on the chin.
"More than anything, it's really frustrating. It's a tough one to take, right at the start of a tournament which we have been building up to as a team for a while.
"We've had our eyes on the Champions Trophy for a while now as a team and we were coming into the tournament in good form. The toughest thing as a bowler is having to come off after only bowling a couple of overs.
"I finished two overs but it was probably on the third or fourth ball of the second over that it felt like something had become tight in my side.
"I managed to finish the over but by the last ball, I knew that something really wasn't right. To a certain extent, it felt like someone was sticking a knife in my side.
"I knew it wasn't going to be good news. It was then a matter of seeing how bad it would be on the scan results."
England are yet to announce a replacement for Woakes, but in the meantime, Liam Plunkett says he is ready to take on the responsibility of bowling at the death after stepping into his injured team-mate's role against Bangladesh.
"I don't do too much death bowling, so it was good to do that, bowl a few yorkers and show my skills," he said. "You get all the glory doing that, don't you? You can go round the park, but it gives you the chance to pick up wickets.
"You don't play to make the numbers up - you want to be the one that takes the wickets. That is what you get picked for. You do want to take it on and be that leader of the bowling attack...I'm happy to take that on my shoulders."
