Moeen Ali considering return to Test cricket ahead of Ashes series
Jun 06, 2023
London [UK], June 6 : All-rounder Moeen Ali, who had called his retirement from Test cricket in September 2021, is considering returning to the side after England's team management approached him for the upcoming Ashes series starting from June 16, according to Sky Sports.
England faced a big setback after Jack Leach was ruled out of the Ashes series due to a low back stress fracture during England's Test victory over Ireland on Saturday.
According to Sky Sports, England's management approached Moeen Ali to rejoin test cricket for the upcoming series to replace injured Jack Leach.
England's selection panel is also looking for other options like Liam Dawson, Rehan Ahmed and Will Jacks. However, the decision acout who will replace Leach has not been taken yet.
Moeen retired from Test cricket in September 2021 during the test series against India. He has played 64 matches and scored 2,914 runs with an average of 28.29. He has also picked up 195 wickets in his test career.
In October, the English spinner had said that the head coach McCullum had a conversion with him to return to Test cricket but he had refused the offer.
It is "hypothetical," said English pacer Broad on Moeen's return.
"It's hypothetical at the moment. I don't know if that's been a thing or a talking point in particularly," Broad said to Sky Sports on Monday.
"We know Mo is a phenomenal cricketer and someone who would fit into Stokes and Baz's philosophy beautifully. I don't know if he's being considered by the selectors or if he would consider red-ball cricket again. But he's a mighty fine cricketer," Broad further added.
England squad: Ben Stokes (c), Ollie Pope, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Joe Root, James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Harry Brook, Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Matthew Potts, Ollie Robinson, Dan Lawrence, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, Josh Tongue.
