30th June – Just under ten years after leading England to a remarkable Ashes victory, Test Match Special‘s Michael Vaughan advocates Adil Rashid’s inclusion in the Test side for the First Test of the 2015 Ashes at the expense of Worcestershire’s Moeen Ali.
The off-spinning all-rounder has taken just eleven wickets in his past four Test matches after returning from an abdominal strain, averaging 41.63 with the ball. Rashid, on the other hand, is in the public spotlight thanks to a remarkable performance in the first ODI of the series against New Zealand, in which he followed up his 50-ball 69 with a return of 4-55.
6th July – Bob Willis, third in the ranking for most wickets by an England bowler in Test matches with 325 to his name, follows Vaughan’s suit, as he suggests that Rashid’s fantastic record against tail-end batsmen in the County Championship with Yorkshire could easily be transferred into the international arena.
“Getting that tail out can often sway the balance,” comments the 66-year-old, “and Rashid’s spin, which goes both ways, would be my pick.”
8th July – Alastair Cook and the England selectors ignore the clamors of Vaughan and Willis, picking the 28-year-old Moeen for the Cardiff Test over his fellow all-rounder Rashid, giving him his twelfth Test cap for England. England recover from 43/3 on the first day of the series to a respectable 343/7 at close on the first day, with Moeen unbeaten on 26, surviving a close LBW call with some help from the Decision Review System.
9th July – In the knowledge that he needs to score quick runs and shepherd the tail to cement England’s position in the ascendency, Moeen accelerates fast in the morning session on Day Two; a flurry of boundaries sees him reach 50 from just 69 balls, and when he is the ninth man out for England, the score has moved onto 419/9. His 88-ball 77 included eleven fours and a six, and was the second-highest score of the innings.
However, Moeen was selected as a bowling all-rounder; whilst his batting contribution was welcomed, it was with the ball where he was meant to be proving his worth. David Warner carefully sees off Moeen’s first over, a maiden straight before lunch, but Ali is brought back into the attack in the 23rd over.
He bowls a couple of fairly tidy overs, before Steven Smith, at the time the number one-ranked batsman in Test cricket, takes the attack to the off-spinner, launching him for three boundaries in four deliveries. This is a test of Ali’s resolve now; his economy rate in Tests of 3.67 demonstrates that he has been known to leak runs on occasion, and there must have been a strong temptation for Cook to remove his spinner from the attack. However, he resists, persevering with the wicket-taking approach he had enjoyed success with in the New Zealand series earlier in the summer.
Rather than bowling defensively, Moeen continues to give the ball flight, air and drift, and his next two overs, in which Chris Rogers remains on strike for the majority of deliveries, go for just four runs. But in his seventh of the innings, the Worcestershire man showed his ability; having bowled five balls with a vast variety of loop on each, he fires the ball towards Smith’s legs upon seeing him charge down the wicket, and, to avoid being stumped, the New South Welshman jabs down his bat, and offers an easy chance to England’s skipper. Cook completes the catch, and England have Australia’s best batsman out for just 33.
His spell lasts just one more over, but Moeen returns to the attack in the 51st over with Michael Clarke and Adam Voges building ominously with the score on 202/3. Again, the 28-year-old varies his flight substantially each delivery, and is not fazed by being carved for four through the off side by Clarke, renowned for his ability to play spin. With five runs coming off his first over, Moeen appears to have failed to put the buffers on Australia, who look to cement a strong position in their first innings. However, the first ball of the 53rd over brings about Clarke’s downfall; the Australian captain, like his deputy Smith, charges down the pitch too early, tries to loft the ball back down the ground, and only manages to offer a simple return catch for Moeen.
The Birmingham-born offie now has figures of 9.1-1-38-2, and has turned the game right back into England’s favour. He bowls just five more overs in the innings, but his job is done with both bat and ball.
A tame dismissal in England’s second innings is not enough to put him off his task in the Australians’ run chase. Having been dispatched for seventeen runs in the second over he bowled, Moeen returns to bowl at Warner just before lunch, and traps him in front for 52. The wicket brings about an Australian collapse; Warner’s was the second wicket to fall, with the score on 97, and by the time Moeen was brought back into the attack after lunch, the visitors had been reduced to 122/5, with the game effectively over.
After having Brad Haddin caught at short mid-wicket, Moeen then took the final wicket of the match, with Josh Hazlewood lofting him straight to Joe Root at long-off. This was a fitting end to the Test; whilst Root may have grabbed the headlines with his first innings 166-ball 134 and his important contribution of 60 in England’s second, Moeen has been one of the unsung heroes of the England side. It is eminently possible that in a couple of years’ time, people will look back on this Cardiff Test as Moeen’s breakthrough performance.
