LONDON: England’s spin all-rounder Moeen Ali, who came out of Test retirement for this year’s Ashes to replace injured Jack Leach, said that he is all done after England won the fifth match at the Oval on Monday.
In response to a query regarding him retiring again, Moeen Ali nodded affirmatively and said he knows he is done before jokingly stating that if Ben Stokes messages him again, he will delete it.
“I know I’m done. If Stokesy messages me again, I am going to delete it! I have enjoyed it and it is great to finish on a high,” said Moeen.
Notably, after first-choice spinner Jack Leach was ruled out of all five Ashes Tests against Australia due to a back injury, England captain Ben Stokes texted Moeen Ali, ‘Ashes?’ to which he replied in the affirmative.
“It was great to come back. When Stokesy messaged me I was a little bit taken aback but when I said yes I was fully into it. It has been an amazing experience to play under Stokesy and Baz (Brendon McCullum).
“I knew the bigger challenge was going to be physical but I am so glad I said yes. It was been an amazing experience and one I will never forget for the rest of my life,” he said after the match.
Earlier, England Test captain Ben Stokes lavished praises on Moeen and also hinted that the management will let him reflect and make his decision about the India series.
“Moeen came in after an unfortunate injury to Jack Leach. I picked him because I knew what he’s capable of. He was just incredible. We’ll let Moeen reflect on everything and make his decision about the India series,” said Stokes.
Moeen Ali made handy contributions with the ball in the fourth innings of the fourth Ashes as he returned figures of 3/76 in England’s 49-run victory.
Australia had already retained the urn after the fourth Ashes Test ended in a rain-affected draw but narrowly missed out on claiming their first Ashes series win in England since 2001.
The reigning World Test Champions started their Ashes campaign on a high by winning the first two matches.
England then hit back by winning the third Test comprehensively and was on the brink of winning the fourth Test until two days of almost uninterrupted rain led to a draw.
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