Sri Lanka will be a tough challenge: Chris Woakes

The Super 12 stage of the ongoing T20 World Cup in Australia is nearing its conclusion with none of the participating teams able to confirm their semi-final spot yet. Group 1 proposes an exciting finale as defending champions Australia, England, and New Zealand are all stuck on five points each with a game to go. England’s Chris Woakes revealed his side’s game plan ahead of their crucial clash against Asian champions Sri Lanka.

England’s qualification through to the semi-final rests in their hands for the most part as a win against Sri Lanka will pretty much guarantee their semi-final berth. But Jos Buttler’s side would like to maximize their chances by widening the margin of victory in the event of Australia’s victory against Afghanistan. However, Chris Woakes reckoned that the team is looking at the two points at this moment instead of focusing on the net run rate.

“At the end of the day, we don’t go through if we don’t win this game; two points are the most important thing – I think we all realize that. You can look at net run rates all you like, but it’s irrelevant if the points aren’t there. We’re entirely focused on the fact that Sri Lanka will be a tough challenge,” Chris Woakes said to AAP.

I don’t think we feel we deserve or have the right to win World Cups because we have a good side: Woakes
England suffered an embarrassing defeat against Ireland earlier in the tournament, and Woakes reckoned they could very well succumb to another defeat if they do not bring their best game. The right-arm pacer believes that having a good team in a tournament of such magnitude does not matter if the players don’t play to their potential.

“We’ve already seen in this tournament and experienced that if you’re not quite on your game, a team will take advantage of that and can easily knock you over. I don’t think we feel we deserve or have the right to win World Cups because we have a good side. It’s all about how we perform in these crucial moments and games. T20 can sometimes be unpredictable, but it’s also a game with much momentum, so let’s talk about that,” Woakes added.