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Moeen Ali has announced he will be coming out of test retirement to make himself available for the upcoming Ashes, due to Jack Leach’s Ashes series-ending injury.

After having a conversation with Director of Cricket Rob Key, coach Brendan McCullum and Ben Stokes, the Warwickshire man has declared he’s not done with test cricket just yet.

The 35-year-old Ali has 195 wickets in tests and has scored five centuries, so will strengthen England’s batting lower down the order, but on the flip side, Moeen Ali coming out of retirement highlights the lack of quality spinner that The Three Lions can call upon.

Dom Bess has been used poorly. The Yorkshire bowler wasn’t managed well at all and as a consequence might not be considered for an international return for a while.

Liam Dawson was the other name mentioned as he would be a direct replacement for Leach, who of course a left-arm spinner too.
As much as the Hampshire all-rounder would be an interesting option, he’s mainly been involved in England’s limited-overs sides and to bring him into an Ashes series is risky. He’s potentially undercooked.

England, since Graeme Swan have struggled to produce a world-class spinner. Will Jacks who does bowl spin has also been mentioned, but with the greatest respect, he’s a batsman, who bowls spin rather than the other way around.

Adil Rashid was another name mentioned, but the Yorkshire spinner’s troublesome shoulder arguably took him out of the running. Leach’s injury couldn’t have come at a worse time for the player and country.

After receiving a lot of criticism the Somerset bowler has become Ben Stokes’ first-choice spinner and in certain games his go-to man to make a difference in games, but in the Ashes, they won’t be able to call upon the 31-year-old due to his back injury.

Moeen, who is a direct replacement for Leach in the squad, will turn 36 during the first Test at Edgbaston, but the veteran is no novice at this level. Moeen Ali has played 64 Tests for England, scoring 2,914 runs and taking 195 wickets.

Against Australia, the all-rounder has enjoyed mixed fortunes he has taken 20 wickets in 11 Tests, at an average of 64.65, and scoring 476 runs, at 25.05. Although understandable why the ECB have decided to take the step they have, players like Rehan Ahmed will be disappointed.

It’s hard to say which way the England management goes when announcing their line-up. It is very possible that hosts England could name an all-pace attack with Joe Root’s part-time off-spin if needed, but this is risky, especially since the Aussies have Nathan Lyon.

Lyon quite rightly is seen as one of the best off-break bowlers in the modern era, maybe only second to India’s Ravi Ashwin. It’s going to be a busy summer of cricket.

The first Ashes test starts on 16th June, barely a week after Australia contested the World Test Championship final, and they say football players have to play too many matches.

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