Improvement with ball has gone under the radar but recent displays suggest his struggles overseas are behind himWhen the awards are handed out at the end of this series victory for
England in
South Africa, Chris Woakes is unlikely to be at the front of the queue. Yet this ultimate team man probably would not have it any other way.
![Chris Woakes’s quiet winter revival offers England hopeful pointers | Chris Stocks](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/bc46a39d8375c29bbd24240456949a220453c761/217_162_3042_1825/master/3042.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&overlay-align=bottom%2Cleft&overlay-width=100p&overlay-base64=L2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdGctZGVmYXVsdC5wbmc&enable=upscale&s=4c96befc49c6fc4b6144aec2200bf44d)
While Ben Stokes, Mark Wood, Jofra Archer and the rest of England’s big names rack up thousands of column inches, Woakes flies under the radar, plying his trade without ego in the quiet pursuit of excellence.