05 June 2023 , 20:08
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Moeen Ali is considering a shock Test retirement U-turn to answer England's call for an Ashes spinner
The 35-year-old all rounder hasn’t played a red ball match since September 2021, but Mirror Sport understands that the 64-times capped off spinner has been sounded out about reversing his decision to retire from the longest form of the game
Moeen was convinced he had played his final Test for England back in 2021, but such was the engaging way Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum had gone about leading the Test side, he gave it some more thought last summer with a tour to Pakistan to come.
But after an enquiry from McCullum last October he appeared to shut the door on his Test career completely when he confirmed his retirement and cleared the way for spinners Liam Livingstone, Will Jacks and Rehan Ahmed to all make their debuts.
However Jack Leach’s unexpected back injury has thrown England’s plans up in the air, and the case for a final hurrah from Moeen, a man with 195 Test wickets to his name, is almost too strong to resist leading to McCullum to make another attempt to lure him back under extreme circumstances.
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England realise it is a big decision to make and they are aware of the issues it could cause, especially if Moeen decides to retire from all international cricket following the 50-over World Cup in India in October/November. But without a clear second choice spinner, and with Hampshire’s Liam Dawson another option as a like-for-like left arm orthodox replacement, the clamour for Moeen is understandable.
Moeen retired from Test cricket in 2021, but could reverse his decision (Alex Davidson/Getty Images)Whether Moeen ultimately believes he can step back into the arena at such short notice is another matter and he could not be blamed if he sticks to his original decision. England hope he won't.
The direction of travel for his career over the past two years has been emphatically white ball cricket, becoming a double World Cup winner in the process.
But his skills as a Test cricketer are not in doubt, and with a style of cricket under Stokes that encourages players to express themselves, he would clearly enjoy the role in this setup.
Moeen retains huge respect from his team-mates and would slot easily into the current environment, and considering the way he has always played his cricket, there is little doubt that he could thrive once again on the field.
"We know Mo is a phenomenal cricketer,” England bowler Stuart Broad told Sky Sports. “And he’s 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.”