TIME WE WOAK UP

Sleepy starts have got to stop says Chris

CHRIS WOAKES hopes the stardust of two all-time greats will cure England’s alarming record of false starts in Test series tomorrow.

Barely 12 hours after the World Cup holders complete their oneday battle against Ireland 240 miles away, England’s first Test against Pakistan opens in the biosecure Old Trafford bubble.

Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad (below) will relish the chance to build on the 1,090 Test wickets they have between them.

All-rounder Woakes was happy to discover the coffee machine was still there when he checked into the same hotel room, with a pitchside view, where he stayed last month.

And he admits England need to wake up and smell the coffee faster than they did against West Indies after Joe Root’s men recovered from losing the first

Test to win 2-1.

Woakes knows there will be no hiding place if England fall to a ninth defeat in 11 opening

Tests of a series.

He said: “We don’t see ourselves as having an excuse at all. I’d love to put my finger on why it keeps happening, and it’s getting to a stage where it’s not just coincidence.

“But we want to put that right, this is a new series and we know the conditions here at Old Trafford, so those are no excuses. “We’ve been living cricket for five weeks, staying in the hotels on the grounds, pitch-facing rooms, and whenever you wake up or have an hour off, you’re constantly looking at a cricket field, which makes it a little tricky. But we get used to it.” Woakes had a close-up view when Broad took his 500th Test wicket in the third Test versus the Windies and followed pal Anderson as the only other Englishman milestone.

He said: “I hope I’ve done enough to be in that starting lineup but we’ve still got two of England’s greats charging in and taking wickets.

“It’s incredibly hard just getting into the side when those two are around, but it’s also special being on the park with two of England’s greats.

“They’ve still got a lot of cricket in them but when they finish, whenever that might be, they are going to be so hard to replace.

“They have been absolute world-beaters for a long period of time and, as a bowler learning from their experiences and seeing how they go about their business, it feels like witnessing history.

“I wasn’t on the field for Jimmy’s 500th Test wicket but I was on the ground as 12th man that day, so it’s nice that I was there for both of them.

“Being on the field for Broady’s 500th last week was special.” to reach the