As suspected at the time, Chris Woakes bravely walking out to bat at the Oval in August, arm in a sling, crowd on their feet, was his final act as an England cricketer. Grimacing through the agony of a dislocated shoulder, it made for front page news and a fitting, albeit unwitting, exit.

Few Test careers get endings such as Stuart Broad’s mic‑drop at the same ground, or the sentimental farewells laid on for Jimmy Anderson or Alastair Cook. But this one suited Woakes: full circle at the scene of his Test debut 12 years earlier and still putting the team first.

Aged 36, with salt and pepper in the beard and the central contract expiring, there was really only one outcome. Though the wise old owl of the post‑Anderson attack – entrusted with overseeing its transition at home – the numbers from two previous Ashes tours had made selection this winter touch and go, even before that shoulder popped.

But those well-documented struggles on the road – arrested a touch last winter, it should be said – are not the epitaph. The career highlights are bucket-list stuff for any cricketer worth their salt, with 192 Test wickets, more than 2,000 Test runs, two white‑ball World Cup wins in 2019 and 2022, plus the Compton‑Miller medal for player of the series in the 2023 Ashes.

There were the Boy’s Own moments, such as man of the match in a World Cup semi-final demolition of Australia on his home ground, hitting the winning runs in an Ashes Test at Headingley and a century against India at Lord’s to claim an entry on all three honours boards. Whether with a Dukes ball or his trusty Gray-Nicolls in hand, the Wizard cast a fair few spells along the way.

That nickname first came about on an under-19s tour in 2006-07 as part of some epic darts tournaments in the team hotel.

Woakes, a quiet but confident lad from Great Barr in Birmingham, was one of those all-round sporty types who flirted with professional football at one stage.

But encouraged by his cricket‑loving father, Roger, and two older half‑brothers, Woakes was only ever set on one path. Starting out at Aston Manor, before moving to Walmley in search of a higher standard in the Birmingham and District League, he was whispered about as a future England player during a frictionless rise through the Warwickshire academy.

Not that it was plain-sailing. After a one-day debut in Australia in 2011 aged 21 – and a six-wicket haul in his second outing – came a spell of patchy returns, injuries and a struggle to convince. England were pushing hard for more pace from their hopefuls, but this initially compromised his natural swing and seam movement.

Just when it looked like it might never happen for him – a chastening tour of South Africa in 2015-16 prompted a swathe of criticism – came the season that changed it all. An injury to Ben Stokes opened up a place and Woakes, fresh from a career-best nine-fer for Warwickshire, and backed by Cook, truly blossomed.

The public were not just won over by a summer that ended with him being named one of Wisden’s cricketers of the year, including 11 wickets against Pakistan at Lord’s to start something of a love affair with the ground. Folks also began to truly appreciate the understated, unflashy qualities that were the foundation to it all: qualities such as attitude, selflessness and professionalism.

A more inward-looking character could have bemoaned their luck at coinciding with the careers of Broad and Anderson, not least given their dibs on the new ball. Perhaps if Stokes had not emerged from the rubble of the 2013-14 Ashes, Woakes might also have stepped up as the Test side’s all-rounder, with seven of his 10 first-class centuries compiled before turning 25.

But Woakes was always appreciative that he shared a dressing room with all three, while Eoin Morgan’s decision to pension off Anderson and Broad at the start of his white‑ball project in 2015 presented an alternative path. As the two greats specialised, Woakes spread his wings as an all‑format player and the attack leader for Morgan’s all-conquering side.

A family man who met his wife, Amie, at school, Woakes never courted controversy and was widely acknowledged as one of the nicest guys on the circuit. Even his one slip-up during 15 years of media interactions – saying Jofra Archer’s late World Cup call-up might not be “fair” on the man to miss out – was a case of politely trying to engage with a loaded question.

Woakes let his cricket do the talking in the main, which in English conditions often proved irresistible. Just ask Australia who, for all the focus on Broad’s bail-flipping farewell in 2023, were chiefly undone by Warwickshire’s Wizard on the day.

Two years later, Woakes said goodbye on that very same stage, arm in a sling and to an ovation that recognised the man as much as the moment. After a career that always put England first, he leaves with his head held high.