The Spin | Writing a book with Chris Woakes showed the inner steel of the nicest man in cricket

The Guardian Sport · 10/21/2026, 9:20:21 AM

All-rounder and ‘the best teammate you could wish for’ has seen profound change since his first-class debut in 2006 The Spin this week comes from York, where Chris Woakes and I sat down on Monday evening to discuss his new autobiography, The Wizard. There were just shy of 400 international wickets on stage, not a single one mine, and an audience that happened to include one of his old teachers. It turns out a seemingly clean-cut cricketer was something of a rebel back in the day, with Mr Wager reminding Chris of the time he feigned illness to bunk off school for a long weekend in Newquay with his mates. A bit like Warwickshire’s title win this year that anecdote came too late, frustratingly, for the hardback edition. Continue reading...