Headaches for ECB as Chris Woakes likely to miss Lord's Test against NZ

England's salient all-rounder Chris Woakes is set to miss the first Test against New Zealand after failing to recover from a past niggle in the knees and shoulders. 

Chris Woakes has been a vital cog in England's pace department in the past few years. The 33-year-old was one of the two cricketers alongside Jonny Bairstow to have featured in the T20 World Cup 2021, Ashes 2021-22, and the Test series against West Indies. 

Earlier, ECB had decided to rest James Anderson and Stuart Broad after a disastrous Ashes series in 2021-22. Woakes tried his best to ensure that England won the inaugural Richards-Botham Trophy 2022 without their help, but he didn't get ample support from others too as the tall, lanky pacer, Ollie Robinson, was also injured ahead of the series.

The workload of Woakes requires proper management as playing 3 Test Matches in 3 weeks was a bit too much where the English bowlers had to toil a lot. 

The absence of Woakes would be a severe headache for the ECB selectors. Jofra Archer and Olly Stone are yet to be fully available and Sam Curran has not bowled long spells in the County Championships.

ECB would be happy that Woakes won't require surgery to return to play, as surgery would mean that he would need 4-6 weeks to resume play.

The English board is due to name the squad for the New Zealand Test series. Earlier, newly appointed-skipper Ben Stokes had already mentioned that Joe Root would be batting at the No.4 position and Stokes at No.6. The likes of Dom Sibley, Rory Burns, Zak Crawley, and Haseeb Hameed are all under the scanner, and some reports suggest that Sam Robson would be back in whites after eight years.

The particular series against the Kane Williamson-led army is a part of the World Test Championship 2023, and the three-lions would be looking to make full use of this home series. 

The first Test slates from June 2, and will be played at the home of cricket, Lord's.