Chris Woakes sympathetic towards Australians over ongoing pay dispute but believes Ashes will go ahead

Chris Woakes has offered sympathy to Australia’s cricketers during their ongoing pay dispute but says England are not yet worried this winter’s Ashes series will be put in jeopardy.

Australia’s leading players are standing firm in opposition to a new pay structure that would see the current model that offers all the country’s cricketers a share of the board’s profits scrapped.

A deadline of June 30 has been laid down by Cricket Australia for players to agree to the new proposal and a threat issued that those who do not will be left unemployed.

That saw David Warner, Australia’s vice-captain, this week suggest that the Test series against England, scheduled to start in November, could be in danger. "If it gets to the extreme they might not have a team for the Ashes,” he said.

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But Woakes, currently on a four-day training camp with England in Spain after returning from a successful spell with Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League, is not concerned the Ashes will be cancelled.

“They have got their difficulties going on,” Woakes said of the Australian dispute. “It sounds like the players are standing firm for what they believe in. It’s not something we can worry about.

“If it gets to the stage where the Ashes are under threat, of course it would be a shame for it to not go ahead – it’s the pinnacle, the be-all and end-all for English cricket, but we are concentrating on what comes next.”

For England that is a three-match one-day series against South Africa starting in Leeds next Wednesday and then the Champions Trophy on home soil.

The issue of pay, though, could become a live issue for Woakes and his team-mates in the near future when the England & Wales Cricket Board negotiate a new TV deal to run from 2020.

A decision on those rights will be finalised later this summer and, if expected, the ECB benefit from a significant increase in broadcast revenue then England’s players might expect a rise in their own central contract payments.

Michael Vaughan, England’s 2005 Ashes-winning captain, this week predicted a dispute similar to the one currently going on in Australia could be on the horizon between the ECB and the players.

However, Woakes said: “It’s not on our radar, we are paid very well and looked after by the ECB and the PCA [Professional Cricketers’ Association]. What lies ahead lies ahead and we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”

Woakes missed England’s recent two-match one-day series against Ireland so he could continue playing in the IPL.

Just like team-mates Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler, the Warwickshire all-rounder was given permission by England director of cricket Andrew Strauss and coach Trevor Bayliss to stay out in India to broaden his cricketing horizons.

But the fact those players had to miss matches for their country to play in the IPL did underline the threat T20 leagues around the world pose to international cricket.

It’s a threat, though, that Woakes doesn’t believe is significant – for England at least.

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“The be-all and end-all is playing for your country,” he said. “I would never turn my back on a tour unless the decision is taken above me.

“Strauss and Trevor were keen for us to go and miss those games. If it came down to them wanting us to stay, you would stay. You never take playing for England for granted but I do think T20 leagues can help your skills.

“It’s Catch 22 but I’m sure a balance will be struck and 99 per cent of the time international cricket will take precedent.”

Woakes had a fine first season in the IPL, his 17 wickets helping Kolkata into the play-offs.

“It was a great experience, it looks like the best Twenty20 competition in the world and it lived up to expectations,” he said.

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Being away from home can take its toll and Woakes is certainly glad to be back with his England team-mates ahead of a huge summer that includes Test series against South Africa and West Indies after the Champions Trophy.

“It’s nice to have some normal conversations not in broken English,” said Woakes. “At the IPL a lot of guys speak English but the majority of the time they speak in Hindi and you don’t always catch what they’re saying.

“It’s great to meet up with the England boys again – to get us all back as a bunch to get ready for the Champions Trophy is important.”

If the IPL was all glamour for Woakes, he was brought down to earth on Tuesday when England flew out to southern Spain on budget carrier Ryanair.

But the work they are doing on fielding over the coming days will be important in the weeks ahead, just as it was after a similar trip to the same Desert Springs resort before the successful home Ashes series in 2015.

“The weather is perfect for training,” said Woakes. “The next few days are going to be pretty intense. We have some meetings too, which will be Champions Trophy specific.

“Going into tournaments it’s always a different vibe. It’s not far off a straight knock-out but this team is in a good place.”