Ashes hero Chris Woakes has been dubbed ‘the wizard’ by his England teammates…

Chris Woakes seemed destined to always live in the Test shadows of England’s biggest new-ball partnership until his introduction of Ashes in this series.

Even the only Ashes triumph involving Woakes ended in an anti-climax when, on his debut at the Oval 10 years ago with England already leading 3-0, he was unbeaten on 17 when the umpires called time on the final Test due to poor light with only 21 needed and five wickets in hand.

But now Woakes is an Ashes star in his own right after being named player of the series for taking 19 wickets in just three games after coming off at Headingley.

And with Stuart Broad retired and Jimmy Anderson looking worryingly ineffective during these Ashes, perhaps Woakes at 34 can look forward to a late stint in the Test spotlight.

“I want to play for England as long as possible,” said the two-time white-ball World Cup winner who missed Bazball’s first summer with a serious knee injury.

“International cricket is still the pinnacle and you want to be involved in days like this (at the Oval.) You don’t get that kind of feeling anywhere else and you just want it to last as long as possible.”

Not that Woakes, “the wizard” to his teammates, feels in any way unhappy that he was there at the same time as the big two in Anderson and Broad. Far from it.

‘I feel very lucky to have played with Stuart and Jimmy,’ said Woakes after taking four wickets on the final day of England’s series-levelling 49-run victory at the Oval.

“The things I learned from them have had a huge impact on how I bowled over the years. In any case, it has extended my international career.

“We’ll never know what would have happened if it weren’t for them, but I can only say good things about the knowledge they passed on. It’s been an honor.’

Now the baton may well be too late to be handed over to a man who has a great track record in home situations but has struggled to make an impression, as Anderson and Broad learned abroad.

England made Woakes their attack leader on the ill-fated tour of the Caribbean early last year when they controversially left Broad and Anderson at home, but he struggled, largely because of his knee, and accepts he may not be allowed to play Test cricket abroad again.

Woakes also spoke ahead of the fourth test of this year’s World Cup in India, which is likely to be his 50-over swan song, so it looks likely he will become a T20 and home test cricket specialist after that.

He certainly enjoyed becoming one of the key figures in England’s comeback from a 2-0 deficit in this Ashes to a thrilling 2-2 draw that would have been even better had rain not been pouring in for most of the game. ruled out the past two days at Old Trafford.

“The past three weeks have been a whirlwind,” he said. “Just great to be a part of. When I came to Headingley the belief in the dressing room was still that we would win 3-2 which was unbelievable. I think we may have thrown in the towel in the past, but that was never the case here. Without the weather we could have been here at 3-2.

“I’m really just proud of myself. To keep going and have the resilience you have to show to play at this level. It’s very appropriate to be here where I made my debut. I’ve played 47 Tests since then, which isn’t that many in 10 years.

“A lot of players would have played a lot more. But if I were standing here, I would have ripped your hand off for everything I’ve achieved in those 10 years.’

And there’s still time for a lot more from Woakes.