MOEEN READY FOR WARMUP

Ali says he has overcome his side strain and is ready to play his first Australian tour match in Townsville this week.

The Worcestershire allrounder missed England’s opening two games in Perth and Adelaide but is available for the final Ashes 2017-18 warm-up game against a Cricket Australia XI starting on Wednesday.

“I am good,” he said on Monday. “It’s just a slight strain on my side from throwing.

“It was a bit frustrating but also not a bad thing, you get a lot more work done.

“I feel like I am ready to play and I can’t wait to spend time in the field. We have got four days of cricket ahead. I can get a bit of game time in my system and then be ready to play, hopefully, at the Gabba.”

The four-dayer in north Queensland is the England cricket team’s last game before the Ashes seriesopener in Brisbane starting on November 23.

“It’s about being ready for that first ball when it’s delivered in Brisbane,” he said. Moeen, on his first Ashes tour Down Under, says he is ready for the intensity of the series.