Liam Plunkett happy to take on more responsibility in absence of Chris Woakes

Liam Plunkett will take it upon himself to fill the void left by the injury which has robbed England of “massive player” Chris Woakes in the Champions Trophy.

Plunkett has already made a decent fist of the emergency assignment, his four for 59 in the hosts’ emphatic opening win over Bangladesh taking his annual one-day international wickets tally to 24 in 10 matches.

Woakes bowled just two overs before leaving the field on Thursday. Then less than 24 hours later, after scans at close of play, an England and Wales Cricket Board statement confirmed what everyone suspected – that he will play no further part in the tournament.

While England decide who will be his injury replacement, Plunkett has delivered an assurance that he is up for the challenge of leading England’s attack over the next two-and-a-half weeks.

He found himself in Woakes’ shoes already, stepping in to help bowl the ‘death’ overs and picking up two big wickets with successive deliveries in the 45th as Bangladesh centurion Tamim Iqbal and his third-wicket partner Mushfiqur Rahim both departed.

Plunkett acknowledges Woakes’ longer-term absence is a big blow.

“Absolutely .. he’s a class player … a massive player, one of the best in the world at the moment,” he said.

It presents a challenge, however, for others and perhaps Plunkett in particular. At 32, he still possesses most of the pace and bounce of his youth but has added an array of skilful variations.

As with his fellow Yorkshire seamer Ryan Sidebottom before him – in England’s 2010 ICC World Twenty20 campaign, their sole tournament victory to date in a global event – this summer’s Champions Trophy may prove the culmination of an admirably resilient career.

Plunkett will not be shying away from the task in front of him.

“That’s why you play,” he said. “You don’t play to make the numbers up – you want to be the one that takes the wickets. That is what you get picked for. You do want to take it on and be that leader of the bowling attack … I’m happy to take that on my shoulders.”

England’s attack will need to be adaptable, however – starting in their second Group A fixture against New Zealand in Cardiff on Tuesday.

“It is something we all work on – it is not like a set position that you just bowl through the middle,” said Plunkett. “You have to work on your skills in case someone goes down and you need to bowl at the death.

“But I do enjoy it. It is a challenge, people playing reverse-sweeps and stuff, but it’s good fun when it goes your way.”

While Woakes has spoken of his frustration after he was ruled out.

“More than anything, it’s really frustrating,” said Woakes. “It’s a tough one to take, right at the start of a tournament which we have been building up to as a team for a while.

“We’ve had our eyes on the Champions Trophy for a while now as a team and we were coming into the tournament in good form. The toughest thing as a bowler is having to come off after only bowling a couple of overs.

“Leaving the guys out there with almost 10 men is difficult to take, so I’m really pleased the boys managed to get over the line with a win.”