It’s been a week since the second season of the International League T20 (ILT20) got underway in the United Arab Emirates, with defending champions Gulf Giants beginning their campaign with a 31-run victory over Sharjah Warriors.
Eight matches have taken place so far in the tournament which has witnessed some extraordinary performances already — from explosive knocks from the likes of Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Johnson Charles to super spells from Maheesh Theekshana and Trent Boult — and MI Emirates and Dubai Capitals currently find themselves on top of the pile with four points each.
Sharjah Warriors, who had finished a disappointing fifth out of six teams in the last season began their campaign on an indifferent note last Friday but bounced back right after with a five-wicket victory against the Capitals on Monday. The Warriors, led by senior English all-rounder Moeen Ali last season, started off with a hat-trick of defeats and were left playing catch-up for the remainder of the season. That, is something that they will be hoping to avoid this time around, and their victory on Monday certainly would have brought them back on that path.
English all-rounder Chris Woakes is part of the action in the second season of ILT20, having linked up with the Warriors squad following England’s tour of the West Indies in December. Woakes had struck a half-century and collected seven wickets in six outings at an economy slightly above seven last season. And he has already made an impact in the two games this season — collecting two wickets and cracking an unbeaten 22 off 13 deliveries against the Giants and following it up with an economical 2/21.
Chris Woakes with the ball 🤌
Chris Woakes with the bat 🤌#SharjahWarriors #CapriSports #ShaanSeSharjah pic.twitter.com/V8SPlJIas5— Sharjah Warriors (@SharjahWarriors) January 20, 2024
In a recent interaction with a Firstpost at the start of the season, Woakes reflected on how the Warriors squad had come together ahead of the season and how preparations had been coming along with the hope of producing a better performance this year.
“I think the atmosphere in the dressing room for the start of season two has been really good. We had a good build-up. Most guys got in fair few days before the first game. We’ve connected well as a group and I think whenever you come together as a side in franchise cricket, it’s a bit tricky to begin with because obviously you’re bringing people from all over the world and trying to put them in a team.
“But I think we’ve got a really welcoming group, we’ve had some really good support staff and coaches helping us get connected as possible. Thoroughly enjoyed it, bit of fun and getting together around the group around training and at the team hotel has been good fun really which is the main thing. Everyone’s got a smile on their faces and hoping to take that out on to the pitch,” Woakes said.
At 34, Woakes is among the senior-most members of the squad and someone whom a lot of the younger members, especially from the seam-bowling department, will be looking up to for advice. The Englishman, however, insists it’s not just the youngsters who get to learn in tournaments such as these where players from all over the world congregate and play alongside one another. Even some of the more experienced campaigners can pick up a new lesson or two while plying their trade.
“I think it’s great to be able to mix with players from all over the world but obviously coming here, you get to mix with some of the UAE players, some of the Associate nations. I think it’s really good if they’re keen to learn and improve. I always say that you can never crack this game, you’re always trying to improve. Doesn’t matter how old or young you are, you’ve got things to learn and improve and work harder.
“It’s great for them to ask me questions, but also it’s actually really good for me to watch them go about their business. They’re playing in home conditions obviously, so you can learn from them also. More than happy to pass any experience across and hopefully whether they have good tournament, or a not so good tournament in terms of playing, hopefully come away with some good learnings and experience from the competition,” Woakes added.
The Warriors will be led by another Englishman this season, with wicketkeeper-batter Tom Kohler-Cadmore taking over the reins of the side from Moeen. At 29 years of age, Kohler-Cadmore isn’t exactly spring chicken and has gathered enough experience playing in the County circuit as well as in T20 leagues across the world to be able to lead a side packed with some of the biggest names in cricket in recent years.
Woakes, for one, described Kohler-Cadmore as a “a real good cricket brain”, adding that it helps to have a compatriot as the captain when playing in leagues across the world.
“Yeah it always helps having a fellow Englishman as captain obviously. TKC this year is captain. I think he’s been fantastic for the Sharjah Warriors franchise, he had a great year last year. He’s been playing some really strong cricket around the world since then.
“As a character, he’s a real good cricket brain, he’s a bit of a thinker of the game, he’s always talking about the game and trying to find ways to improve, always thinking of strategy and tactics. So I think he’ll be a great captain and obviously as you say, being an Englishman as well, I suppose that’s always nice to have a fellow Englishman in the side,” Woakes said.
On a lighter note, Woakes did find it a bit odd to wear a yellow cricketing kit as an Englishman.
“It is a bit strange wearing yellow as an Englishman. I think obviously with our closest rivals Australia also being full yellow is a little bit strange. But no, it’s very different obviously. There’s a lot of purple in there as well to take it away from the Australian yellow. I actually really like this year’s kit to be fair, I like the purple that’s been added like a new badge,” Woakes signed off.
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