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. Still, there is a fair bit packed in, as you would expect from a 14-year England career that saw him overcome early doubts – and some pretty harsh judgments – to experience some dizzying heights. Moeen Ali called him the “best teammate you could wish for”, and the same goes when collaborating on a book.
We first properly crossed paths in 2016. I had just moved to Birmingham, Chris was newly recalled to the England Test squad, and after an interview before a day’s play at Edgbaston, I sheepishly requested a second attempt at stumps. Chris had whistled up a career-best nine for 36 in between, rather torching my first draft and hinting at what would become his breakthrough summer in Test cricket.
The idea for a book came up around three years ago, but it took a while to come to fruition. A three-format all-rounder with an Indian Premier League deal and two young children tends not to be flush with spare time. A central contract also meant being subject to England’s red pen.
Best to wait until that was no longer the case. Chris already had a great story to tell at that point though, as a state-school-educated, one-club man who, among other things, became a two-time World Cup winner. He had also rescued Bazball’s bacon that summer, collecting the Compton-Miller medal as player of the series in the 2023 Ashes.
Although neither of us could have predicted the spark that turned the idea into reality: that final morning at the Oval last year when Chris walked out to bat as a one-armed No 11. Through David Luxton, a leading literary agent, and with interest piqued by that dramatic finale, we met our excellent publishers at Michael Joseph. Ghostwriting is nothing new in the world of autobiographies.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
