Woakes retires from International Cricket

England seam-bowling all-rounder Chris Woakes on Monday announced his retirement from international cricket.

Woakes announced his decision taking to his social media, stating, "The moment has come, and I've decided the time is right for me to retire from international cricket."

He added, "Playing for England was something I aspired to do since I was a kid dreaming in the back garden, and I feel incredibly fortunate to have lived out those dreams."

Having featured in 217 games for England across all formats of the game since his debut in 2011, Woakes amassed a total of 396 wickets, in addition to 3705 runs with the willow.

The 36-year-old last featured for England during their ICC World Test Championship series finale against India at home earlier this summer.

The outing saw a heroic display from Woakes, battling a shoulder dislocation, come out and bat for England on the final day of the Test with one arm in a sling.

"Making my debut in 2011 in Australia seems like yesterday, but time flies when you're having fun. Lifting two World Cups and being part of some amazing Ashes series is something I never thought was possible, and those memories and celebrations with my teammates will stay with me forever.

"I look forward to continuing to play county cricket and exploring more franchise opportunities in the near future."

Woakes made his international debut in January 2011 during England's limited-overs tour of Australia, featuring in both T20Is and ODIs. His Test debut followed two years later, in the final Ashes Test at The Oval, where he replaced the injured Tim Bresnan.

Across 62 Tests, Woakes claimed 192 wickets, with his best match figures of 11 for 102 against Pakistan at Lord's and best innings figures of 6 for 17 against Ireland at the same venue. With the bat, he has one Test century to his name apart from seven fifties.

In ODIs, Woakes represented England 122 times, taking 173 wickets, with a career-best 6 for 45 against Australia in Brisbane during his debut series. He also played 33 T20Is, picking up 31 wickets. His last ODI appearance came against Pakistan at the 2023 World Cup, while his final T20I was against West Indies later that year. Woakes was also a part of England's white-ball renaissance in 2015 and went on to lift the ODI World Cup in 2019 and the T20 World Cup in 2022.