Woakes highly rated since his teenage years

Adelaide From Walsall to the fringes of World Cup recognition, Chris Woakes' rise through the ranks has been prodigious.

He plays for Warwickshire and is originally from Walsall. He was at Walsall FC's school of excellence as a winger until the age of 14. He attended Barr Beacon Language College from 2000 to 2007.

He's been highly rated by his county and England since his teenage years, earning selection for England's Under19s and making several appearances for the Lions team.

He has a notable fan in the former South Africa fast bowler Allan Donald and they love him in Herefordshire, where he appeared in Minor Counties cricket as a youngster.

Pride of the Lions? Very much so. On his first appearance against West Indies at Derby in 2009, he dismissed the tourists' first six batsmen before lunch, including Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan. Those figures of six for 43 remain his career best. Later that year, he dismissed Ricky Ponting and Mike Hussey in a two-day game against Australia at Canterbury. In February 2010, he played for the Lions against Paul Collingwood's senior England team in a Twenty20 game in Abu Dhabi ahead of the World Cup. He didn't take a wicket but did claim three catches, including Collingwood off Adil Rashid's bowling.

He has a record of producing the goods when the pressure is on. His highest first-class score of 136 not out came against Hampshire early last season, rescuing Warwickshire from 98 for seven to set up a total of 382. His other first-class century also came against Hampshire, with 131 in a stand of 222 with Jonathan Trott at the Rose Bowl.