Chris Woakes aims to end 'annoying' season on a high for club and country

Injury has kept the 26-year-old all-rounder on the sidelines for much of this season, robbing him of a possible place in the England side which reclaimed the Ashes earlier this month.

Woakes was part of the XI that faced India in the final home Test of 2014 yet a foot injury, followed by knee surgery, meant he was absent until mid-July while other international colleagues were redeeming themselves against New Zealand and Australia after the disastrous World Cup campaign.

"The first few months of the season were frustrating and annoying," Woakes said to Press Association Sport.

"After a tough World Cup which didn't really go the way we would have liked it would have been nice to have started the summer with a clean slate. That wasn't to be.

"There's never a good time for an injury but the timing was pretty bad. I feel like I'm over it now, though, and I'm looking forward to what lies ahead which is some important cricket - finals day and then plenty of English cricket to finish the summer."

The bulk of the season may have passed by with Woakes relegated to a watching brief, but he knows there is an opportunity to make up for lost time in the coming weeks.

This Saturday his county will look to become the first to defend a Twenty20 title at finals day at Edgbaston, where Woakes' brilliant death bowling guided Birmingham to success over an Andrew Flintoff-inspired Lancashire 12 months ago.

The next day Woakes will link up with England again having this week been called up to both the Twenty20 and one-day squads ahead of six clashes with World Cup holders Australia.

Although Woakes trained with the Test squad prior to the recent Edgbaston Test - and was mentioned as a possible replacement for James Anderson when a side problem ruled him out at Trent Bridge - he conceded he was unsure if international recognition would arrive again so soon.

"I'm really pleased to be called back in," he noted.

"I wasn't really sure whether I was going to be part of it or not so I'm really pleased to be selected.

"It seems like forever since the World Cup so I'm really itching to get back out there."

He will certainly find a different one-day side to the one he played in at the World Cup, though, with the post-mortem from that competition prompting a bolder approach that reaped rewards against World Cup finalists New Zealand.

But that aggressive philosophy is one Woakes believes he can buy into to.

"The way the lads have played over the summer has been fantastic," Woakes added.

"Obviously I would have loved to have been a part of that but to be able to watch as a fan, more than anything, has been great to watch the way they've played. I can't wait to be a part of that.

"The way the lads played against New Zealand in that one-day series was brilliant. It was almost fearless; they went out and were really free and played their game and executed their skills really well.

"With that aggressive approach, hopefully I can take out on to the field with me as well."