Former English cricketer Graeme Swann said that Moeen Ali coming out of retirement and joining the England squad for Ashes 2023 is a good move as it will make them stronger. He said playing under the leadership of Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum will make a comeback easy for the all-rounder.
Moeen Ali surprised many when he regained his retirement and joined the England squad for the 2023 Ashes. He was approached by selectors and skipper Ben Stokes along with head coach Brendon McCullum after Jack Leach was ruled out of the series due to a back injury. .
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Graeme Swann feels the presence of Moeen Ali will extend England’s batting and be adept on the ball, considering the number of left-handers in the Australian team. Speaking at the launch of IG’s Net Gains campaign at Lord’s, he said:
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“I think it makes us stronger. Which is hard for Jack, because he was doing a good job with the ball. But he extends the hitting, which is important. And with all his lefties [Australia are expected to pick four left-handers in their top seven] we have a side bowling game in them. Jack does something similar every game: he picks up one end and does a job. There are still areas where I think he could be better and he does things differently than I did, but he’s playing a role on a team.
If you have closers who are attacking all the time, if you have Stokesy’s rebounder theory, then you need a shooter who can roll threes instead of sixes. It’s a loss, but you have Mo, who spreads the batting… and they have so many lefties.”
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Ashes 2023: “The fact that Baz and Stokesy are in charge makes it easy for him,” says Graeme Swann
Graeme Swann went on to say that Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum would have already given Moeen Ali a license to express herself. He elaborated:
“The very fact that Baz and Stokesy are in charge makes it easy for him. They’ve said, ‘You come in and all your positive attributes are what we’re looking for’, none of the complexes of anything that’s happened before.
“I’m sure he’s just been given a license to run and bowl, spin it as hard as he can and bat any way he can. Glad to see it back: still brilliant. I saw it in the IPL. He’s mercurial, sure, but he’s still a brilliant talent.”
Overall, in 64 Tests he has played, Moeen Ali has scored 2914 Test runs and has 195 wickets.
Also read: Ashes 2023: ‘You have to 100% want to be there’: Nasser Hussain thinks only Moeen Ali can make a call on his test return
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