Chris Woakes comeback delayed to put Test place in jeopardy

GEORGE DOBELL: It was hoped the allrounder would return from knee and shoulder issues against Northamptonshire this week but he now faces missing the first Test against New Zealand at Lord's

Chris Woakes’ hopes of playing in the first Test of the summer would appear to have taken a substantial blow with the news that he is not fit to return to the Warwickshire side for the next round of the LV= Insurance County Championship.

Woakes endured a bitterly disappointing winter as part of England’s Test squads in Australia and the Caribbean (his 11 wickets came at a cost of 52.36 apiece) but his record in England remains outstanding.

His bowling average is actually better than both James Anderson or Stuart Broad in home Tests while his ability with the bat would have strengthened his claims for selection.

But Woakes has not recovered from a variety of injury issues, notably to his knee and shoulder, and will not be risked in the Warwickshire side playing Northamptonshire at Edgbaston, when the club had intended for him to return, from Thursday (May 12)

That leaves him only one Championship match ahead of the first Test of the summer (at Lord’s on June 2) and, with the Test squad due to have been selected before the end of that round of games, his chances of playing must have suffered considerably. The original plan had been for Woakes to play three of the four Championship matches leading into the Test.

^{Craig Overton and Sam Curran (Stu Forster/Getty Images)}

With Sam Curran, another all-rounder, also on the comeback trail and unlikely to feature in the squad for the first Test, Craig Overton could be well-placed to retain his place.

Like Woakes, he struggled in the Caribbean (he claimed four wickets at 47.25 ), but he has impressed in the county season to date (his 20 wickets have come at 14.05) and might add some fibre to a tail that could otherwise feature a selection of Matt Parkinson, James Anderson, Ollie Robinson, Saqib Mahmood and Stuart Broad.

Dan Lawrence could also be struggling. He suffered a hamstring injury in the game against Somerset a few weeks ago and, with Essex having no game this week, has no further opportunity to press his case ahead of the squad selection.

Ollie Pope and Harry Brook would appear to be the batters best placed to take the opportunity to push for selection at No. 5 in that first Test side. 

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