"Never take for granted again" - Chris Woakes on having fans back in stadiums

England all-rounder Chris Woakes is excited to see fans back in the stadium for the first time in over a year since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out across the globe.

To ensure the safety of the cricketers and all stakeholders involved, the International Cricket Council (ICC) along with all the other boards decided to host matches behind closed doors only. With the situation now on the mend in the UK, organizers are slowly beginning to to bring fans back to the stadium.

Around 1500 people were allowed to watch the county game between Leicestershire and Hampshire at the Rose Bowl between May 19-22. The venue will also host the World Test Championship final between India and New Zealand beginning June 18.

Clearly thrilled at the sight of fans in the stadiums, Chris Woakes took to Twitter to urge the cricketing fraternity to never again take the fans for granted.

"How good is sport with fans back in stadiums?! Something we’ll never take for granted ever again! So good to see!" Chris Woakes wrote on Twitter.

How good is sport with fans back in stadiums?! Something we’ll never take for granted ever again! 🙌🏼So good to see!

— Chris Woakes (@chriswoakes) May 24, 2021

The World Test Championship final between India and New Zealand will be held in the presence of 4000 spectators, confirmed Hampshire County Club head Rod Bransgrove.

Chris Woakes rested for the New Zealand Test series

The 32-year-old cricketer from Birmingham, along with other IPL-bound English cricketers who returned from India, were rested for the two-match Test series following their 14 days of mandatory quarantine.

Our 15-player squad for the LV= Insurance Test Series with New Zealand! 🏏🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 #ENGvNZ 🇳🇿

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) May 18, 2021

Chris Woakes plied his trade for the Delhi Capitals in IPL 2021 before the tournament came to a premature halt following bio-bubble breaches. In three matches, the right-arm fast bowler scalped five wickets at an economy rate of 7.45. He also scored 15 runs batting in the lower-order.

He is poised to return to the national side for the five-match Test series against India starting on August 4 at Trent Bridge in Nottingham. With Jofra Archer likely to miss the high-voltage series, Chris Woakes is expected to partner James Anderson and Stuart Broad against Virat Kohli and his men.