England recall Woakes for second Windies Test

England have recalled Warwickshire all-rounder Chris Woakes for the second Test against the West Indies at Headingley, captain Joe Root announced Thursday.

Woakes replaces Middlesex seamer Toby Roland-Jones in the only change to the side that thrashed the West Indies by an innings and 209 runs inside three days during last week's inaugural day/night Test in England at Edgbaston.

Woakes had become a mainstay in all three international formats, but a side strain suffered barely two overs into England's Champions Trophy opener against Bangladesh at The Oval in June put him out of action for 11 weeks.

During England's recent 3-1 home series win over South Africa, Woakes's place as third seamer went to Roland-Jones, who took eight wickets on Test debut at The Oval.

The 28-year-old Woakes was in England's squad for the first Test against the West Indies but lost out on his Birmingham home ground to Roland-Jones.

Since his injury, Woakes has managed one first-class match.

His five-wicket haul and a second innings fifty during Warwickshire's 190-run First Division County Championship win over Middlesex at Lord's led to his inclusion in England's squad for the Windies series opener.

Now, with England having just two more Tests before they defend the Ashes in Australia, Woakes will look to impress at Headingley, where the second of a three-match series starts on Friday.

- 'Great chance' -

"Chris is back in, Toby unfortunately misses out," Root told reporters at Headingley on Thursday.

"He (Roland-Jones) has not done a lot wrong at all, he took his opportunities, he's played some fantastic cricket and I see him being a massive part of our future moving forward," added Root, who will be captaining England in a Test at his Yorkshire home ground for the first time.

"But it's a great chance for Chris to come back into the side and show his class like he did last time," said the star batsman of Woakes, who has scored two fifties in his 17 Tests and taken 48 wickets at an average of under 30.

Roland-Jones, however, did all that could reasonably be asked of him in taking 14 wickets at 19.35 apiece in his first three Tests.

West Indies received widespread criticism for their woeful showing at Edgbaston but Root said England were prepared for an improved display by the tourists in Leeds.

"We know they're a side that are capable of some strong performances and we expect them to come back hard," he said.

Root's first Test as captain saw England beat South Africa at Lord's, only for the Proteas to level the series next up at Trent Bridge.

Now the star batsman wants to make sure there's no repeat of that slip against the West Indies.

"We have got to make sure that our game is the best it can be and we follow up what was a really good win last week," Root said.

"To try to make sure that we leave this week having won the series is really important for us as a side."

Source: AFP