Moeen Ali Cites 'BazBall' As Reason Behind Test Comeback For Ashes 2023

image-liu91nkwMoeen Ali played 64 Tests for England (Twitter)

Moeen Ali is set to come out of Test retirement for the upcoming Ashes series in England. The English all-rounder will be replacing Jack Leach in the squad, after the latter suffered a stress fracture during a Test match against Ireland.

Days prior to the commencement of the Ashes, Moeen himself has expressed his excitement over playing for England again, and explained why he decided to disregard his retirement from the format.


Moeen Ali says Bazball too good to refuse

England’s Test side, under captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum, have underwent a tremendous transformation over the past year. After an extensive winless run in the format during the backend of Joe Root’s leadership saga, the Stokes-led England employed an aggressive approach and romped their way to 11 wins in their subsequent 13 Tests.

The approach, nicknamed as 'Bazball' by the English media, has re-ignited result-oriented tactics in Tests, with English batters often maintaining a run-rate of above six-an-over.

Moeen, who announced his Test retirement in September 2021, has said that his decision to make a comeback was influenced by his temptation to embrace England’s new attacking approach. 

While speaking with the reporters ahead of the series, he said:

"The exciting cricket the guys have been playing. It's an era I would have loved when I was playing. I spoke to Stokes about how he talks to the batters and he said, 'look, it would be perfect for the way you play'."

The 35-year-old also claimed that Ashes was too big of a series to miss out, and expressed his excitement of joining England’s squad for the challenge.

"The fact that it is The Ashes and it is such a big series, to be part of it would be amazing."

Ali played 64 Tests for England between 2014 and his temporary retirement in 2021. The cricketer claimed 195 wickets with his right-arm off-spin and scored 2,914 runs with the bat, with five tons and 14 half-centuries to his name.