England legend Chris Woakes directly calls out ECB boss over ‘cold’ Ashes decision

Former England bowler Chris Woakes has directly called out how the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and managing director Rob Key handled leaving him out of the 2025/26 Ashes tour, which effectively ended his international career.

Woakes played 217 matches for England, including 62 Tests. His final red-ball match ended in bizarre fashion when he was forced to bat in the fifth Test against India at The Oval in August 2025, despite having dislocated his shoulder while fielding earlier in the same Test.

But this show of grit and determination was not enough to secure him a spot on the plane to Australia for the Ashes, prompting Woakes to announce his immediate retirement from international cricket.

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What did Rob Key say about Chris Woakes retiring from international cricket?

“Chris Woakes is one of the finest people to have played the game,” managing director Key said following Woakes’ retirement. “An extraordinary career carved out alongside two of England’s greatest-ever bowlers [James Anderson and Stuart Broad]. A man who helped every team he played in, even before he walked on to the field.”

However, more than 12 months on, Woakes has revealed that he has “barely spoken” to Key since retiring.

“That final bit felt a bit cold,” Woakes told The Guardian.

“A bit shabby, really.”

Discussing his relationship with Key, the Warwickshire star added: “I’ve always got on well with Rob and maybe those words slipped out, not necessarily how he meant them. But he could have easily had that conversation first with me, rather than the press.

“He’s a busy man and moved on to different things. I’m sure at some point we’ll discuss it. But in any walk of professional sport there isn’t much loyalty because the game moves on. Rob probably had bigger fish to fry at that time. There was an Ashes series, and that was his priority, which I understand.”

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Woakes then turned his attention to the topic of alcohol after several of his former England team-mates were involved in misdemeanours while under the influence over the past year or so. The incidents initially led the ECB to impose a midnight curfew on the team.

The curfew was scrapped by new Test captain Joe Root.

Does English cricket still have a drink issue?

“I’d like to say no, but drinking culture is mentioned a lot," Woakes said. "There are lads at Warwickshire who enjoy a drink after a win or a hard four days of cricket. Other guys here are almost teetotal, and this is the most professional county team I’ve ever seen. But I’ve played in teams where the majority enjoy a drink, so it becomes the norm.

“People say that, within professional sport, it should be zero alcohol. But cricket is very different from football and rugby. Test cricket is played over five days, on tours which last for months. It consumes you, and people need to have a release. But that doesn’t mean they should get in trouble, like we’ve seen within the England team recently.”

When pressed on whether the curfew solved anything, Woakes added: “No. You need to give players some freedom and treat them like adults. But it’s unacceptable to see the way some England players have acted.”

Despite retiring from England duty, Woakes is still playing at the highest level, having featured in multiple franchise leagues around the world, including a spell with Welsh Fire in The Hundred earlier this year.