Chris Woakes interview: 'My time with England was up - but I'm a long way from finished'
For most Villa supporters, September’s win over Fulham was not a day to linger too long in the memory.
Chris Woakes considers it was among the greatest of his life.
The 3-1 scoreline helped but was only a small part of the reason. Of far greater significance was the presence, for the first time at a Villa match, of his eldest daughter Laila by his side.
“I’d been waiting for her to reach an age when I could take her down to Villa Park,” he smiles. “She loved it and that was just so nice for me.
“It was a great game, we won and the atmosphere was great, the sun was shining. It was just a really nice moment.
“You wouldn’t expect a game with Fulham to be one of the greatest days of my life. But there you go!”
Further trips are in the pipeline, not least because Laila was something of a “lucky charm” to a Villa team struggling for form at that point of the season.
More pertinently, there is also time, now Woakes’ life is no longer shaped by the international cricket calendar.
The month which has passed since he announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket has provided the first taste of something approaching normal life, after more than a decade spent in the England pressure-cooker.
There has been time for reflection and also to plan for the future, the first major part of which has been confirmed just a couple of days previously with Woakes agreeing a two-year contract extension at Warwickshire.
First, there is time for a history lesson. Sitting down in an executive box at Edgbaston with the Express & Star, Woakes is reminded of a piece from back in 2013.
When the newspaper launched a new weekly Big Interview feature, the then still emerging star from Great Barr - yet to make his Test debut - was among the first subjects.
“I’m not the new Freddie Flintoff,” ran the headline.
On that prediction, at least, Woakes was correct. But after 62 Tests, more than 2,000 runs, 192 wickets and two World Cup wins later, it hasn’t exactly been bad going.
“I wouldn’t have believed it, if you’d told me back then, not one bit,” he laughs. “At that stage, I’d have taken just a handful of Test caps. To finish with 62, nearly 200 wickets, it is amazing really.
“I was just a lad from Great Barr who had a knack for being a half-decent cricketer and it just kind of spiralled through hard work, dedication and some very good guidance from coaches. I have been very fortunate.”
It is typically modest stuff from Woakes but by the same token it is impossible not to detect a tinge of frustration at how it all ended.
Woakes acknowledges it probably won’t be until the Ashes begin later this month it will fully sink in. Saying he is as “happy as you can be” with the decision to retire also suggests he is some distance from fully content.
It’s entirely understandable. While Woakes’ moderate record in Australia meant he may have faced a battle to make this winter’s squad, even if fully fit, the dislocated shoulder he suffered in this summer’s final Test against India effectively “forced his hand”.
