"I think there's a challenge there": Australain coach Andrew McDonald on Moeen Ali's inclusion
Jun 12, 2023
New Delhi [India], June 12 : Australia's coach Andrew McDonald believes that the return of the English all-rounder Moeen Ali's return to Test cricket will be a 'challenge' ahead of their upcoming Ashes 2023 series.
Five days ago, Moeen who had announced his retirement from Test cricket back in 2021, was included in England's squad for the first two Ashes Tests against Australia, starting from June 16 onwards.
After Australia won the World Test Championship final, McDonald reflected on the inclusion of Moeen and said that it would be a challenge for the 35-year-old as he has missed the red-ball action for two years.
"I think there's a challenge there, isn't there? Mo hasn't played a red-ball game for an extended period of time. No doubt he'll be prepared - he's had a couple of weeks' notice," McDonald said as quoted by ICC.com.
Moeen was called back into action due to Leach's lower-back stress fracture which was diagnosed last Sunday. This led to England asking Moeen if he would consider changing his retirement from Test cricket.
He agreed to the idea, and he will link up with the rest of their squad for the first two Ashes Tests during Tuesday's training session at Edgbaston, with the first Test starting on Friday.
"But I think Jack Leach really complemented that attack and his wicket-taking ability and the way Ben Stokes has used him has been a little more aggressive and has reaped some great rewards," McDonald added.
"So, yeah, it will look different with Mo there. Mo has 190-odd Test wickets as well [and] strengthens their lower order, so it won't be the same but they'll have to operate fractionally differently - no doubt about that," he signed off.
Since Stokes took over as the captain of England's test team a year ago, Leach has been one of the most crucial figures in their bowling setup. Under Stokes, he bowled 515.1 overs in Test cricket picking up 179 more than any other England bowler.
