Allrounder has hardly ever performed for Bears in latest seasons however is ready to make injury comeback in opposition to Kent
Woakes has not performed Test cricket for greater than a yr so England shall be viewing his restoration from a heel injury with explicit scrutiny, particularly if one in all their Headingley seamers suffers as a lot as a scratch through the third Test in opposition to India.
He is known as in Birmingham’s 13 after coming via unscathed from bowling 25 overs throughout a 2nd XI four-day match in opposition to Worcestershire at New Road. How optimistic that seems to be stays to be seen.
It will be safely assumed that one other 4 overs in the hurly burly of a Blast quarter-final wouldn’t be on most physios’ most popular rehabilitation programmes, however England’s determination whether or not to permit Woakes’ inclusion will say a lot concerning the standing of the Blast lower than every week after the domineering new child in city, the Hundred, accomplished its first season.
For Mark Robinson, Warwickshire’s first-team coach, it was simply the most recent problem since he returned to county cricket in the beginning of the yr. “I’d forgotten the relentless nature of it,” he mentioned. “But to be at stage of this season with two competitions still to win is where you want to be as a club.”
Birmingham are actually needy. Olly Stone and Henry Brookes are long-term absentees amongst their tempo bowlers, Oliver Hannon-Dalby has had one other setback, and Carlos Brathwaite, an integral a part of their facet in the group phases, has flown off to the Caribbean Premier League. And if Ryan Sidebottom ever hankered after including to his solitary T20 outing, made final month, he’s injured too.
To encapsulate the Bears’ fixed run of misfortune, Dan Mousley, their promising spin-bowling batter, returned from a damaged finger and duly smashed one other one in fielding observe.
“He has torn a finger to bits,” Robinson sighed. “It’s a bad injury. It was just fielding practice, really innocuous, and a real shame. We have had to overcome some setbacks this year with missed personnel. I suppose the advantage is that we’ve been there before. We know what our best team looks like and we’ve never really put it out. But when you play for Warwickshire – or Birmingham – you never are the underdogs. That’s what the message will be.”
“Adam and I had a few jokes about it throughout the Hundred,” Benjamin mentioned. “I kept telling him I wanted to face him in the nets just to get used to his action. But I only faced him a handful of times because the tournament was so busy, so we’ll have to see.”
David Hopps writes on county cricket for ESPNcricinfo @davidkhopps
