Moeen Ali ready to lead England in Jos Buttler’s absence

BIRMINGHAM: Spin all-rounder Moeen Ali stated Friday that he is ready to lead England in the absence of white-ball captain Jos Buttler.

England’s white-ball captain Buttler and his wife Louise are expecting the birth of their third child soon. As a result, the wicketkeeper batter may miss a part of the ongoing four-match series against Pakistan or the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.

Meanwhile, England’s vice-captain Moeen Ali, who has led the side in 12 ODIs and T20Is, stated that nothing will change if he assumes the England captaincy role in Buttler’s absence.

“I feel I’ve captained enough for England,” Moeen said.

“I’ll be fine. Nothing will change too much, it’s just taking over from what he’s doing and then when he comes back, he takes over.

“Hopefully, the baby comes at the right time where he doesn’t miss too many games.

“For me, it’s just whatever will happen, will happen. It’s not really difficult, to be honest with you, because we speak often, me and Jos. We talk about other things, the team and all that. We’re on the same page anyway.”

Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel

Moeen further expressed his disappointment with the first T20I against Pakistan being washed out but asserted that the upcoming three matches would be enough for the reigning champions to gear up for the title defence.

“It was obviously disappointing (on Wednesday) because Leeds is a great place to go and play.

“Playing cricket is always the best preparation. I know most of the guys have been playing. A few guys have been training but it’s not the same, so hopefully they’ll get some game time.

“These three games should be enough for the guys to get going and there’s a bit of time in the West Indies, a few training sessions. We’ll be fine. There’s no real excuses from our side.”

Notably, the four-match T20I series between Pakistan and England, scheduled to run from May 22 to 30, will serve as a final opportunity for both teams to gear up for the T20 World Cup 2024 as the previous edition’s finalists will skip the warm-up matches for this year’s mega event.

Pakistan squad:

Babar Azam (c), Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Rizwan, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Usman Khan.

England squad:

Jos Buttler (c), Phil Salt, Will Jacks, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Duckett, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Chris Jordan, Tom Hartley, Adil Rashid, Jofra Archer, Mark Wood and Reece Topley.

Pak vs Eng T20I series schedule:

2nd T20I: Sat, May 25th
3rd T20I: Tue, May 28th
4th T20I: Thu, May 30th

READ: Pakistan announce squad for T20 World Cup 2024