Eng vs Ind: Hosts name Moeen Ali as vice-captain for 4th Test
Sep 01, 2021
London [UK], September 1 : The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on Wednesday confirmed that all-rounder Moeen Ali will be the vice-captain for the upcoming fourth Test against India, beginning Thursday at the Oval.
"Moeen Ali has been named as our vice-captain for the fourth Test against India. Congrats, Mo," tweeted England Cricket.
Joe Root has already amassed more than 500 runs in the series and if he continues to pile on the runs, India would definitely be left on the back foot. Good signs for England were that openers Haseeb Hameed and Rory Burns also got 50+ scores in the Headingley Test.
England would be without Jos Buttler in the fourth Test and Jonny Bairstow would don the wicketkeeping gloves. James Anderson is already turning back time to display a vintage style of bowling and it is safe to say, the next match of the five-Test series lies on a knife's edge.
With the five-match Test series between India and England poised perfectly at 1-1, the focus heading into the fourth game remains on whether ace spinner Ravichandran Ashwin will finally be given a chance in the playing XI or not.
The fourth Test will be played at the Oval, and traditionally the ground has offered assistance to the spinners so if the management wants to unleash the off-spinner, this would be the perfect opportunity.
England squad for fourth Test: Joe Root (capt), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow, Sam Billings, Rory Burns, Sam Curran, Haseeb Hameed, Dan Lawrence, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.
