Always hungry to play for England: Chris Woakes targets Ashes series against Australia

London [UK], May 31 (ANI): England pacer Chris Woakes is "hungry" to make Test cricket return in the Ashes series against Australia after wondering whether he would ever get a place in England's red-ball team.
Woakes hasn't played at home since the Oval match against India in September 2021 and his last appearance for England's Test team was in the West Indies in March 2022. Woakes will make a comeback in the Test squad for the first time since March 2022 and it will be his first Test on home soil in the last two years.
Due to a knee injury, the seamer was unable to play last summer. As a result, the 34-year-old watched as England won six of their first seven Test matches, led by captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum. This streak of success has since extended to 10 matches after victories over Pakistan by a score of 3-0 and New Zealand by a score of 1-1.
Woakes is hopeful of playing some part in the Ashes, which starts at his home ground of Edgbaston on June 16.
"You're always hungry to play for England. Going through the bad times, like last summer where I was desperate to play but my body didn't let me, reminded me you have to enjoy playing. Your career is a relatively short one so make the most of it," Chris Woakes was quoted as saying by Skysports.
"We have a very good pool of fast bowlers. There have been niggles around and you imagine you are going to need to tap into that pool of fast bowlers at some point," he added.
Talking about whether he feared his Test career could be over, Woakes said: "I suppose those sorts of doubts do run through your mind a little bit."
"Whether it be through form or injury, there is always someone knocking on the door or younger players ready to come in. That is part and parcel of being at the top of your sport," Woakes added.
With the home Ashes against Australia beginning on 16 June, England will be looking forward to getting some game time before facing their arch-rivals.
Squad: Ben Stokes (c), James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Chris Woakes and Mark Wood. (ANI)