England hopeful of bringing Moeen Ali back into Test fold now that Ashes is done and dusted
There’s no Nathan Lyon in the near future so why not think about resurrecting the Test career of Moeen Ali, with the Poms hoping a simple ‘freshen up’ will do the trick.
Cricket
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The door has been left open for Moeen Ali to return to the England Test team despite the all-rounder asking for a break from red-ball cricket.
The 32-year-old was dropped after the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston following a poor display and has only been handed a central contract in white-ball cricket.
Ashley Giles, managing director of the England men’s team, believes some time away could be exactly what Moeen needs to rediscover his best form in the longer format of the game.
“Moeen has actually asked me if he could just take a step back from red-ball cricket, which is fine. He’s not retiring, but he just wants a little bit of a break from Test cricket,” Giles said.
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“I think for all the guys, not just Moeen, it’s been a really challenging summer. A World Cup, and Ashes back-to-back has had a massive effect on many of these guys psychologically as much as physically.
“Some of those guys are still carrying that and part of that will be Moeen. His experience in the first Test wasn’t a great one, but that’s cricket.
“He has been a great servant to this team and that’s why I encouraged him to leave that option open to come back. He might just need to go away and freshen up.”
Moeen will not feature for England in the two-Test series in New Zealand later this year and it is a similar story for Adil Rashid - another to lose his central Test contract.
Mdeanwhile, Giles admits the side could have an interim head coach for the tour of New Zealand but has ruled out appointing separate coaches for red-ball and white-ball cricket.
Trevor Bayliss finished his tenure after the drawn Ashes series earlier this month and thoughts have now turned to who may replace him.
England will play two Tests and five Twenty20s in New Zealand from November 1 and Giles concedes an interim coach may oversee that tour.
England have not advertised the permanent position, with Giles instead gathering interest before a final shortlist is drawn up.
“There’s some strong candidates out there. You’ll know them, I’m not going to go through the list and who is favourite and whatever,” he said.
“There’s some internal, some English and some very good overseas. I’m looking forward to it and it’s a big appointment.”