Well, the 31-year-old from Birmingham was not too far behind Stokes, with his performance in Manchester earning him plaudits and even helping him enter an elite club. Whilst not having the build of Andrew Flintoff or the charismatic presence like Ben Stokes, the Warwickshire cricketer has slowly gone about his business. So much so, he is still considered as one of the ‘underrated’ all-rounders in World cricket despite having been a blooming presence in the England setup, for almost seven years now. 

At home, without a doubt, the right-arm seamer is Captain Roger, as his name suggests through his amazing display over the course of the last year. Whilst he only picked six wickets in his first two years in familiar conditions, it was only later in 2016 when he sparked a real critics’ interest over his bowling. Since then, he has turned himself and his career around, cementing his place in the national team with his sheer consistency, not just limited to his bowling. His average of 23.85 last year does not, however, have the ring to it, partly because of his inconsistency against Australia, the team that England will face for their toughest task next year. 

The Three Lions’ selection has been pretty much a well-written history, with documents available in museums around the world and its present, on every other English daily. Exactly at this point, Chris Woakes staggering numbers at home comes crashing down, his form in away conditions take the precedence not just because he is worse but since there are clearly better options available at their disposal.  

On the batting front, after the inclusion of a host of new names at the top of the order in lieu with Dom Sibley and Rory Burns, England have a steady top order. In the middle-order, Ben Stokes is more than enough with his world-class exploits, such has been the sheer dominance of the all-rounder who has a dangerous bouncer under his sleeves. With Sam Curran too more than capable with his willow, England already have a host of options on the batting front, where Woakes has always got the upper hand. Going into a country like Australia, where conditions only offer something for the pacers predominantly, England cannot afford to have three all-rounders in the same playing XI as they did at Old Trafford. 

In Australia, easily without the slightest of flinches, the visitors would pick Mark Wood, Jofra Archer and even Olly Stone for the matter of fact. The fact that Wood and Archer have already established themselves as a prime option Down Under with their staggering (dagger-like) in South Africa, it only leaves them with limited seats. One of Stuart Broad or James Anderson certainly is going to be seated next to the young-gen English bowlers. Given that, they offer pretty much everything, the selectors would be inclined to pick Stone over the Birmingham man. 

Olly Stone has everything that is lacking in Woakes, a good bouncer, handy pace (not on par with Archer anyway) and a very good average. His pace, at over 90mph, can be rattling and in the presence of such an attack, England’s naivety of writing Christopher Roger Woakes name with a black marker on a whiteboard would leave them in a major coup, putting them back to square one on their mission to conquer Australia.