Moeen Ali will MISS England training on Wednesday to receive his OBE
Moeen Ali will MISS England training on Wednesday to receive his OBE… but admits he is expecting Australia to ‘target him’ and ‘could go for a lot of runs’ after answering Ashes SOS call
- Moeen Ali will miss England’s training session on Wednesday to receive his OBE
- It comes after he answered England’s Ashes SOS call after Jack Leach’s injury
- England are set to kick off their Ashes campaign at Edgebaston on Friday
Moeen Ali will miss England’s Ashes training on Wednesday after just one day back in the Test fold and will instead dash to Windsor Castle to receive his OBE.
Moeen answered England’s SOS call when spinner Jack Leach was injured during the victory over Ireland and will be thrown straight into Friday’s first Test against Australia despite having not played any game of red-ball cricket for nearly two years.
But first Moeen will head to Windsor along with wife Firoza and parents Munir and Maqsood for a ceremony, potentially with King Charles, delayed from last year until this week because he thought he had a gap in his calendar.
‘I’ve been trying to book it for a while,’ said Moeen, who was awarded the OBE for services to cricket last year. ‘I’ve not really been able to find a date before now but I’m still going. I spoke to Baz (coach Brendon McCullum) and he said it was fine.
‘Mum and dad love it so I’m taking them and my wife. I’ve had to buy a new three piece suit for the occasion and it’s going to be boiling hot!’
Moeen Ali will miss England training on Wednesday and will head to Windsor to pick up his OBE
Ali (left) was recalled to the England squad for the upcoming Ashes series as cover for the injured Jack Leach (not pictured)
Leach (pictured) suffered a stress fracture in his back during England’s test against Ireland
Not nearly as hot, though, as the reception awaiting Moeen, who turns 36 during the first Test, when he is thrown back into the Ashes cauldron against an Australia side he has invariably struggled against in the past.
The all-rounder admitted he expected to be targeted by the old enemy when he takes his place on his home ground in an Ashes Test for the first time since a disastrous performance in the first match of the 2019 series led to him being dropped for the series.
‘A hundred per cent they will target me and if I was them I’d do the same,’ he said. ‘I think any spinner who came in would have been attacked.
‘I’m not expecting them to defend against me. I’m expecting them to come after me which could be dangerous because Stokesey likes to have the fielders up. I could go for a lot of runs!’
Moeen admitted Firoza had reservations about his return to Test cricket two years after his retirement from the red-ball game and less than a year after he turned down a similar approach from McCullum to tour Pakistan, saying ‘sorry, I’m done.’
But his father, such a huge influence on him, was firmly in favour of the emergency move and Moeen now wants to make the most of this unexpected opportunity to become an Ashes winner for the second time after featuring in the 2015 triumph.
‘My wife knew I wasn’t enjoying it so much towards the end of my Test career,’ said Moeen.
Ali recently admitted the only captain who could have persuaded him to come out of retirement was Ben Stokes (right)
More recently, he’s been plying his trade in the IPL with the Chennai Super Kings
Ali’s last test appearances came during England’s home test series against India in 2021
While being pictured in training this week, Ali also admitted that he expects ‘Australia to target him’ in the upcoming series
‘That I was much happier with the way things were going and enjoying my cricket after I concentrated on the white-ball game. So she took a lot of convincing.
‘The last thing I wanted was to say yes but not be properly in it with everything.
‘So one thing I really want to make clear is that I’m going to try to give this everything I’ve got.
‘More than I did before probably. And be a massive part of what could be a huge series. I want to be fully involved in this.’
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