Chris Woakes explains why mind games come into bowling at the death in white-ball cricket
After bowling England to victory with a nerveless final over in the third ODI against New Zealand, Chris Woakes has provided some insight into how he approaches bowling at the death.
The 29-year-old bowling all-rounder was up against New Zealand captain Kane Williamson, who had passed 100, and after being hit for a six midway through the over, ended with two dot balls to close the game out and seal a four-run win.
Asked whether the current fielding restrictions make it difficult to avoid telegraphing what delivery is coming, Woakes explained how he combats such issues when the pressure is on.
“You can do the old bluff but as we’ve seen, if you get it wrong and the ball goes to the part of the ground where you haven’t got a fielder then you look a bit silly,” he told Sky Sports Cricket.
“Sometimes when there is a set batsman in you do have to play with their mind as well, use those mind games where you do use the old bluff and bowl to a field that doesn’t suit that delivery.
“But the majority of the time if you execute your skill to that field, you hope that you’re going to come out on top.”
Tom Curran kept England ahead of the game with a fine penultimate over and Woakes believes the young seamer can only benefit from performing in such a high pressure situation.
New Zealand vs England
March 6, 2018, 9:30pm
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“He’s done it in games before as well, he’s been bowling in tough situations, the back end of one-day games, and it’s tough,” he added.
“You’d like to think that you’ll pick up a couple of wickets in those situations but, at the same time, he’s been keeping the run-rate down beautifully. I think he’ll benefit from it, to bowl that over in a high-pressure game, you can only learn from the experience and take positives from it.”
England lead 2-1 after three ODIs and can secure a series win with victory in Dunedin.
Watch the fourth ODI between New Zealand and England from 9.30pm, Tuesday on Sky Sports Cricket.
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