Ben Stokes is the only England captain Moeen Ali believes could have convinced him to come out of test retirement. This is according to Moeen Ali.
After first-choice spinner Jack Leach was ruled out of all five Ashes Tests against Australia, all that was needed to get slow-bowling all-rounder Moeen back into England’s red-ball set-up was a one word communication from Stokes.
The first match of the Ashes series will take place on Friday, and it is possible that Moeen may make his comeback to test cricket in Edgbaston, which is located in his hometown of Birmingham.
“Stokesy messaged me with a question mark — ‘Ashes?’,” Moeen told reporters at Edgbaston on Tuesday.
Moeen said that he was unaware of the damage that Leach had sustained to his back, and he believed that Stokes was joking about it.
“Then the news came through, and I had a chat with him,” he recalled. “Then the news came through.” That was the end of it. The ashes will be used. Being a part of it would be an incredible experience.
This coming Sunday, Moeen will be 36 years old; his last appearance in a test match was in September of 2021.
But the fact that he was forming a friendship with Stokes at the same time, which proved to be the deciding factor, was while they were both playing for Chennai Super Kings in this year’s Indian Premier League.
Moeen had the following response when asked whether there was any other captain who could have been able to convince him to alter his mind: “Probably not, no.”
Moeen has represented England in 64 Test matches, during which he has taken 195 wickets and scored 2,914 runs. In addition, he is a potent batter and an off-spinner.
However, Australia has proven to be difficult opponents for Moeen, as shown by the fact that his career bowling average in Ashes cricket has increased from 36.66 to 64.65.
Nevertheless, he said that he is looking forward to the opportunity to be engaged as England strives to win the Ashes series for the first time since 2015.
According to Moeen, “the fact that it is the Ashes and it is such a big series would make it an amazing experience to be a part of it.”
Since Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum began working together in 2018, England has won 11 of their 13 Test matches, and Moeen has expressed his desire to be a part of the exciting style of cricket that has emerged as a result.
“There are no question marks over any shots you play, which gives me license to play a few more rash shots, I guess,” the other player said. “There are no question marks over any shots you play.”
Even when he has possession of the ball, he plays in a more aggressive manner. I am aware that I go for runs, but Stokesy is also aware that there are wicket-taking deliveries in between my runs-scoring deliveries. That is the only thing that concerns him.