By Phil Walker

A year ago to the month, Chris Woakes sat back in the stands at The Oval, overlooking the scene of his Ashes heist, and considered the state of play.
A chapter had closed, life was good. Some sense of vindication was in the air. Woakes doesn’t do bluster or, mercifully, false modesty, but still it was impossible to ignore the fact that he’d finally left a real, lasting mark on Test cricket, and not as a character actor but the main guy.
Called up (post knee injury) for the third Test of that series, Woakes and Mark Wood had combined to steal the summer. After a nerveless han...