He made his way to the media conference rather like you might imagine a condemned man would make his way towards the gallows.
His stride was longer and had more purpose, but he was careful not to make eye contact with his would-be executors. And it was not until he was safely sitting behind the provided table before he lifted his head and braced himself for the inquisition.
There was no inquisition waiting, of course. Actually, Woakes was among the better-performed bowlers and could mount a case for a test spot.
But the 24-year-old was not confident of his selection prospects before the first test which begins in Dunedin on Wednesday.
He trails fellow all-rounder Stuart Broad in the pecking order and it is very likely he will join Graham Onions on the sideline to make room for strike bowlers James Anderson and Steven Finn.
''Fingers crossed I get the nod but I'd be surprised.''
he said.
''I felt like I did myself no harm [in the warm-up game]. It would be nice to have scored a few more runs.
''Obviously the team probably won't be announced until the day before, so up until then you try your best to force your way in.''
Woakes seemed to get better at the bowling crease the longer the game went on. He took one for 64 from 19 overs in the first innings and two for 67 from 22 in the second. Broad also picked up three wickets but he went for more runs.
Both players were not able to make an impact with the bat but Woakes can claim to have scored more runs than Kevin Pietersen, Jonathan Trott and Nick Compton.
As for the mood of the English camp following its three-wicket loss, it was reasonably upbeat, he said.
''We know this isn't going to be an easy series against New Zealand in their own conditions, so to have such a competitive tour game I think is good for us.
''In parts of the game we played well and there are areas we need to improve. I don't think the team are [feeling] too low with the way the result has gone. I think, in general, the performance was pretty good.
''We're obviously disappointed to lose the game ... but the guys know there are more important things ahead and they'll take the positives out of the game and move on to Wednesday.''
